Screenplays

I’m a writer from Washington, DC, whose work has been recognized by the DC Film Office, the Nicholl Fellowships, Fade In magazine, the American Screenwriters Association and other contests.  I’ve also been a judge for the DC Shorts Screenwriting Competition and other local competitions, written short scripts for the 48 Hour Film Project and interviewed filmmakers for On Tap magazine.

Click on the links below to read excerpts from my scripts.

Screenplays

Mount Pleasant
Set in the tense days before a Washington riot, the theft of a briefcase brings two men together. One is white, one is black, and MOUNT PLEASANT follows their parallel stories until they are brought together for a final, violent conclusion.

  • First Place – 5th Annual Film DC Screenwriting Competition
  • Top 15% – Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
  • Second Round – Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition
  • Quarterfinalist – PAGE International Screenwriting Awards
  • Honorable Mention – American Screenwriters Association Screenplay Competition

Don’t Mess Up My Block
Laurent Christ tells the unbelievable story of his life, as he goes from flyover country to the nation’s capital, in this satire of the self-help industry. Based upon my novel of the same name.

Eurabia
The year is 2028. America has lost the war on terror. But the CIA has a secret plan to change the course of history.

  • Quarterfinalist – Big Break Screenwriting Competition
  • Quarterfinalist – PAGE International Screenwriting Competition
  • Quarterfinalist – American Screenwriters Association Screenplay Competition
  • Semifinalist – Screenwriting Expo Screenplay Competition
  • Semifinalist –  Writers on the Storm Screenplay Competition
  • Second Round – Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition

The White Jaguar
This script is about a radical environmentalist who leads a team of scientists to the jungles of Mexico to save an animal long thought to be extinct – the white jaguar. In the face of Zapatista guerillas, corrupt military officers, punishing terrain and haunting Mayan ruins, how far will he go in pursuit of his dream?

  • Top 100 – The Screenwriter Dig Screenplay Competition

After the Gold Rush
A dotcom failure, washed up at the age of 24, goes abroad to end it all. But he can’t escape the sensual pull of Italy.

  • Semi Finalist – BlueCat Screenwriting Lab
  • Quarterfinalist – Fade In Magazine Screenplay Competition
  • Certificate of Merit – American Screenwriters Association Screenplay Competition

Happy Hour
After flunking out of the University of Virginia, Mike is forced to become a drug dealer to support his own coke habit. He deals drugs at the high school he once graduated from.

The Second Best Man
In this romantic comedy set in a Florida suburb a few weeks before Christmas, an out of control bachelor party leads to wedding day disaster. Jon, recovering from heartbreak, encounters a comic cast of characters as he struggles to prepare a bachelor party for his best friend. When things go terribly wrong, this “second best man” discovers that the quest for a perfect wedding brings out the worst in everyone.

Short Screenplays

Accept All Changes
This is a short script about a bored office worker finding romance with a bike courier.
  • Quarterfinalist – American Gem Short Screenplay Competition

Crippled
In this five-page screenplay, an unlikely and doomed love affair blossoms between a lonely man and a determined young woman with MS. This script is an adaptation of a published short story of mine.

  • Finalist – MoviePoet.com Short Screenplay Competition
Produced Films

Where do you get your inspiration from? This short horror flick, made for the 48 Hour Film Project, delves into the secret life of glass artist Tim Tate.

The Shoepranos
This short film was shot for the 48 Hour Film Project and was shown locally. It’s a funny mockumentary about a secret society of shoe salesmen.

Carrots and Onions
I edited the screenplay of this independent feature film, an unreleased romantic comedy which was filmed in Washington.

2 thoughts on “Screenplays”

  1. Joe,

    What is your rate for a first draft of a short screenplay, 10 pages? If this is not how you charge, please verify your process.

    Thx.

    Patrick

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