ISA Staff Picks: August 2024

These screenplays and their writers were selected by ISA staff members as standouts in their genres and formats for the month of August 2024. They are being submitted to agents, managers, producers and production companies actively looking for writers to rep or projects to produce. 

ZORA & ZIZI by Desa Larkin-Boutté (Pilot)

Logline: Two college freshmen discover they are sharing a scholarship meant for one. To avoid expulsion, they must place their differences aside and create a single persona. Throughout the process they explore the many ways to be black in America, all while begging the question: Is it possible to discover who you are while pretending to be someone else?

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Felicity Wren

Comments: Very well written. The setup feels like it's maybe verging on a Disney teen show, but this author throws these curve balls of incisive racial commentary that are startling  -- the line about "I'm the product of 400 years of rape" felt like a gut punch. A very skillful straddling of commercial instincts and edgier content. Desa is always working, inventive and thoughtful. She has two new projects in development, in very different genres, whilst also working as an executive for Third Rail Productions in conjunction with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

ISA Connection: Desa was discovered via her Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Grand Prize win and was invited onto the ISA Development Slate, which led to being selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards:
Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices - Grand Prize
Sundance Episodic Lab - 2nd Rounder
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch 

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SEOUL 88 by Jennifer D'Angelo Kircher (Feature)

Logline: When her beloved American teacher is brutally murdered after the divisive 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, a defiant young Korean-American journalist must reconcile her own divides to expose a devious killer hiding in plain sight. (Based on true events.)

Selected by: ISA Writing Gigs Staff

Comments: A thriller crime who-done-it story set in Seoul 1988 during the Summer Olympics. A group of American teachers all gather together at a Halloween party, one of them is later found dead. The story uncovers the mystery of who killed the teacher and their motives. The writer navigates the investigation of the murder, racial tensions between the journalist and the American teachers and the politics of the time against the backdrop of the Olympics. The writer does a great job of building tension at the end when the killer is revealed. Overall, it is a very intriguing film that deals with multiple different dynamics.

ISA Connection: Jennifer has been an ISA Member since 2016.

Awards:
Richmond International Film Festival - Winner
World Film Carnival Singapore - Winner
Page Turner Feature & TV Pilot Drama Competition - Finalist
Golden Script Competition - Finalist

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LEMONLIGHT by M Rowan Meyer (Pilot)

Logline: A troupe of unemployed thespians in Elizabethan London endeavor to produce their own hit play, come poverty, pox, or plague.

Comments: A half hour comedic version of the hugely successful SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE with a nod to the BBC period classic, BLACKADDER. This is an uproariously funny aspiration story set in the glamorous world of 18th century theater, borrowing all the cliques of today's youth. Its hopelessly overconfident thespian main character has all the right ideas and wrong moves. If John Cleese or Prunella Scales were aspiring 18th century actors rather than hotel owners in FAWLTY TOWERS, then you'd get a sense of the laugh out loud humor this carries. The historical setting is intriguing and at the same time very familiar, carrying themes of politics, ambition and love. This is an opportunity to bring to a global audience a fascinating period of history that stands out from the vast number of contemporary comedy sitcoms viewed today.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Reggie Singh

ISA Connection: M Rowan was discovered via his Table Read and Emerging Screenwriters Shoot Your Short Grand Prize wins and was invited onto the ISA Development Slate, which led to being selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards:
Table Read My Screenplay - Grand Prize
Emerging Screenwriters Shoot Your Short - Grand Prize
Fade In Sci-Fi Competition - Grand Prize
Emerging Screenwriters Genre Screenplay Competition - Finalist
Shore Scripts Screenwriting Competition - Finalist
NYC Screenplay Awards - Top 10
Austin Revolution Film Festival - Award Nominee
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch 

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SADIE HAWKINS by Shayna Weber (Feature)

Logline: When her dream date turns her down for the high school Sadie Hawkins Dance, a boy-crazy transplant hatches a plan of revenge on all the boys, but crazy may run in the family as her Aunt has plans of her own.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Craig James

Comments: The cynics of the world may say Shayna’s script made this list because she’s a member of the ISA team. I reject that wholeheartedly. She joined the ISA for her vast experience as a producer and her insight into pitching, which has certainly proven invaluable to our community, but it wasn’t until I read her script SADIE HAWKINS that I realized her gift as a writer. Horror/Comedy is typically not my thing but it sure is hers, and her script hooked me from the first page. Shayna takes us back to high school, with all the awkwardness, cliques and people we certainly, secretly, wished were dead, and knocks them off one at a time. She is a master at developing compelling and dynamic characters who may or may not deserve to die. And she makes it so much fun! Not that I’m condoning murder. : )

ISA Connection: Shayna was invited onto the ISA Development Slate and is an ISA Staff Member.

Awards:
Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition - Top 100
Screencraft Horror Screenplay Contest - Top 50
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch  

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THE DIENER by Robert Wooldridge (Feature)

Logline: When a local diener notices a pattern amongst young women coming through the morgue, she follows the clues that the police and coroner don’t see to try and find a serial killer hiding in plain sight.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Shayna Weber

Comments: THE DIENER is a Female-Driven Thriller/Crime Drama that takes you on a twisty ride and grabs the reader’s attention from the start. The lead character, Liz, is undervalued and overlooked in her job assisting in the morgue but finds her voice when she courageously hunts down a local serial killer, but she wasn’t expecting what else she uncovers in the process. Robert adds some nice turns to this script that bends the genre and keeps it fresh. Robert is an award-winning Feature writer of Drama and Action. At the core of his scripts is usually a loner or an outcast, who leads you on an emotional journey to an unexpected place. His strength is found in character-driven dramas and thrillers, focusing on diversity, LGBTQIA+, and strong female roles. 

ISA Connection: Robert is an ISAConnect Member and was invited onto the ISA Development Slate, which led to being selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

Awards:
Emerging Screenwriters Suspense Screenplay Competition - Semi-Finalist
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch 

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WONDER & LIGHTNING by Diane Lansing (Feature)

Logline: A rough surfer girl from Santa Cruz runs away from her abusive foster dad attempting to find her freedom in Malibu, where the waves are pristine but acceptance is a challenge, and after taking in a stray pit bull, she must use the fearless surfing skills to assimilate within a world that doesn’t want her and overcome her personal defenses to find a new home for both of them.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Max Timm

Comments: A touching, moving, and inspirational story about a young woman trying to find her place within a world that doesn’t want her. A perfect young adult story that touches on family, friendship, young love, identity, and the ever-so-popular coming of age, only WONDER & LIGHTNING allows for the coming of age for all of the characters in the story, young or old. It doesn’t hurt that the main character, Wonder, adopts the best little dog, Lightning, and their friendship becomes the heart of the movie. Diane Lansing is a top notch writer and professional with multiple years of experience in writing and directing success under her belt. This script deserves to see the screen, and audiences deserve to watch it.

ISA Connection: Diane is an ISAConnect Member and was invited onto the ISA Development Slate, which led to being selected as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter To Watch. She is also an alumni of The Story Farm.

Awards:
Austin Film Festival - Semi-Finalist
Stowe Story Labs - Winner

Interested in reading any of these projects?
Please email Felicity@NetworkISA.org.

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