Winning COMEDY SHORT Screenplay – ALMOST NEVER TOO LATE, by Jeffrey Howe

Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Adventure

In suburbia, a toddler plays innocently in a sandpit. Meanwhile next door, an android called Steve has arrived from the future with a mission to kill the child before it grows into an evil tyrant. But before he can do so, he is caught up in a fight with Beth, another time traveller, who claims that Steve’s actions will cause the future timeline.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Carina Cojeen
Steve: David Occhipinti
Beth: Norma Dunphy
Evil Imperion: Dennis Barham
Ajax One: Fabio Abreu

Get to know the writer: 

1. What is your screenplay about?

A succession of time travelers attempts to change history–or to stop each others’ attempts–until their original target takes matters into his own three-year-old hands.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Sci-fi (parody), comedy

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Principal photography would take a day, tops. A fourteen-year old could *probably* do the simulated computer graphics. 
*double checks with fourteen-year old son* 
Make that *definitely*.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Briefly amusing. 

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

“The Little Mermaid.” Don’t judge me, it was a weird time in my life. 

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

About a day and a half. I wrote it mostly to stay limber waiting for the NYCMidnight finals (a timed scriptwriting contest), since I had never written short-short comedy. Well, not since high school.

7. How many stories have you written?

If we’re including novels and short stories along with various length scripts…thirty-something that I’ve finished. Maybe forty.

8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)

At the moment, “The Hell of It,” off the “Phantom of the Paradise” soundtrack. An underappreciated Paul Williams classic. Later today, who knows?

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

Self-imposed: I wanted to finish a workable draft in one sitting (see number 6 above).

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Dissecting other people’s writing. You may know this as “reading” or “watching stuff.”

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?

Generally good. The one time a festival contest turned out to be a scam, FF refunded the entry fee. Same for contests that canceled. The review system needs some tweaks, though–right now a festival or contest can kind of be held hostage by a hostile reviewer.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

The working screenwriter in my writers’ group said the script was good enough for a comedy-centric contest. I guess that counts as initial feedback? In any case, it was reassuring. Writing comedy scares the crap out of me.

****

Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com

Director: Kierston Drier
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson

Camera Operator: Mary Cox

By comedyfestival

Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.

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