SCREENPLAYS
It’s been a long time since I’ve focused on my writing, particularly when it comes to screenplays. While my first script received attention from such outlets as Aint It Cool News, and others were passed around in consideration by some TV networks and production companies, writing for that format can be a soul-crushing experience. There are too many stories of the almost-happened, of high hopes/dashed hopes, of development hell heartbreak, etc...
It takes a small miracle to see a script go through the process of actually being optioned or purchased – much less produced. Most scripts’ fate is to fall on a closet shelf, be forgotten, yellowed, and abandoned. Recently, though, I decided to submit some of my work to a number of screenplay contests, and have been encouraged by the response. Because of this, I finally decided to include a page on my website listing them. After all, who knows what could happen? You have to keep the dream alive…and keep alive to dream. 😊
More information on my screenplays can be found on my COVERFLY.com and MovieBytes.com profiles.
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(Feature: Comedy/Adventure/Animation/Family)
(Originated as a 30 minute short, later expanded into an hourlong TV Pilot: Horror/Dark Comedy)
SPRUCE UP THE HOLIDAYS
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(Short/TV Special: Comedy/Animation/Family/Holiday)
Synopsis
An animated adventure about a pair of forest squirrels whose tree is cut down and taken to the city to be used as an elaborate Christmas display. Lost within a bustling Metropolis, and desperate to find their way back home, the squirrels come to understand the true spirit of Christmas and their love for each other.
Awards & Recognition
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Semi-finalist, Script2Comic Screenplay Competition. October 2020.
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Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft Animation Screenplay Competition. August 2020.
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Quarterfinalist, The Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards. August 2020.
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Official Selection/Quarterfinalist, HollyShorts Film Festival Screenplay Competition. July 2020.
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Quarterfinalist - Short, The Southern California Screenplay Competition. January 2020.
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Quarterfinalist, WeScreenplay Shorts Competition. August 2019.
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Featured on Coverfly's THE RED LIST.
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Official Selection, COVERFLY PITCH WEEK, Sept. 2020.
HEAVEN SPENT
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(Feature: Dark Comedy/Supernatural/Romance/Holiday)
Synopsis
Lonely and depressed, twentysomething Micah Cohen decides to finally end it all. But after his would-be suicide fails in pathetic fashion, Coltan, a bumbling "agent for the afterlife," comes to collect Micah’s soul. The glitch: Micah isn’t dead yet…so Coltan grants him one more day to get the job done. It’s up to Micah’s guardian angel, a rookie named Christine, to help raise Micah’s spirits and turn his life around. But Coltan won’t give up so easily. Nor will Coltan’s boss -- Death Itself -- who could be lurking around every corner, waiting for Micah’s borrowed time to finally run out.
A darkly comic, reverse spin on IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
Awards & Recognition
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2nd place winner, Words From Here's Third Annual Screenplay Competition. September 2005.
Art by Adam McDaniel
"The thing that stuck with me from this script is how visually it's written. I could picture almost every shot...
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"...I enjoyed it a lot. It blends poignance and humor quite well. A very good script."
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-- Disturbed's Script Mine, AIN'T IT COOL NEWS
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Website designed and maintained by Adam McDaniel. All original writing, illustration, and artwork featured within this website (unless otherwise noted) copyright © 2023 by Adam McDaniel. All rights reserved. Images (in whole or part) may not be downloaded, copied, linked to, or edited in any manner or form for use on any website, image gallery, clipart collection, printed product, or other derivative uses without express written permission from the artist, unless it is for the purpose of critical reviews or commentary. Screenplays listed here are WGA registered.
