Written by Nathan Yacos
When a family man gains instant celebrity status as TV spokesman, his newfound celebrity threatens to tear his family apart and challenge his notion of a happy life.
Editor & Visual Design by Kimberly Villarruel
Voice Actors:
Sean Ballantyne
Matt Barnes
Christopher Bautista
Cassandra Guthrie
Allison Kampf
Erica Levine
Luke Robinson
Produced by Matthew Toffolo
Submit your Comedy Screenplay or Film to the Festival Today:http://festivalforcomedy.com
See the November 2016 Comedy Stories. Click the link and watch the winning videos:
 BEST SCENE Screenplay – WAITING TO CRUMBLENovember 2016 Reading Written by John Ott |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – BASTURDNovember 2016 Reading Written by Michael Egan |
 TV SPEC Screenplay – UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDTNovember 2016 Reading Written by Sarah Cassell |
 FEATURE Screenplay – DUE SOUTHNovember 2016 Reading Written by Even R. Schullery |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – CASABLANCA SLINGNovember 2016 Reading Written by Naomi Lewis |
 FAN FICTION Screenplay – GILLIGAN’S ISLAND OF THE DEADNovember 2016 Reading Written by Jerry Kokich |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – FORGIVENESSNovember 2016 Reading Written by Sherwin Allen |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – EXORCISENovember 2016 Reading Written by Matt Holland |
 PROVERBIAL LUCK, 5min, Austria, Romance/ComedyWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 SHORT Story – SMALL TOWN NEWSPAPERNovember 2016 Reading Written by Rachel Sutton |
 DEADLY VIEW, 3min., Ireland, Thriller/MysteryWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 SHORT Story – SUPERMARKET SAVAGERYNovember 2016 Reading Written by Joan Grindley |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – COMMENCEMENTNovember 2016 Reading Written by Dan Borengasser |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – EMPATHY IN THE ELEVATORNovember 2016 Reading Written by Keith Makenas |
 SHORT Screenplay (Under 5pg.) – THE LAST ANNIVERSARY DINNER November 2016 Reading Written by Patrick Coleman Duncan |
****
Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
Watch the Winning Comedy Short Screenplay for October 18th
THE MIGHTY BIRD
Written by Brian Gililland and Lance Larson
SYNOPSIS:
Genre: Comedy
An average joe discovers one day that he yields a surprising super-power in his middle fingers.
CAST LIST:
MIGHTY BIRD – Gabriel Darku
FABULOUS FINGERLING – Rikki Wright
OLD LADY – Julie C. Sheppard
NARRATOR – Michelle Alexander
Get to know the winning writer:
What is your screenplay about?
An ordinary man one day realizes that he has the power to make people explode when he gives them the middle finger. With great power comes great responsibility, until he meets a man with an equally powerful middle finger.
What genres does your screenplay under?
comedy/sci-fi
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
It plays on the superhero film craze, then turns it on its head.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Mmmm. Bop.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Dumb and dumber, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars.
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
This screenplay was written during my time working as a sound mixer on the latest Children of the Corn film. In between setups I would come to other crew members and as suggestions similar to an improv show setup. It took me the duration of filming to finish the screenplay.
How many stories have you written?
I have been writing short films for over 15 years. In that time I have reached final draft over 30 times.
What motivated you to write this screenplay?
The shoot for children of the corn was very heavy, and this script was an attempt to boost morale. It worked.
What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Honestly, the only obstacle was convincing the children of the corn producer to read the script. He eventually did. And apparently he laughed his ass off.
Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
I love doing standup comedy in my free time.
Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Don’t overanalyze your work. Finish a script and submit it. Then keep writing.
***
Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
Submit your Comedy Screenplay or Film to the Festival Today:http://festivalforcomedy.com
See the April 2016 Comedy Stories. Click the link and watch the winning videos:
 1st Scene Screenplay – MAN SEEKING MONKEY April 2016 Reading Written by Steve Mikals |  Feature Screenplay – MISPRINTS April 2016 Reading Written by Adam Preston |
 Short Story Reading – RANDY & PATRICIA JOIN A MILITIA April 2016 Reading Written by Randy Gillis |
 FANTASY FOOTBALL: A NERD’S TALEWATCH Audience FEEDBACK Video 2min, USA, Action/Comedy |
 Feature Screenplay – DEAD NORTH April 2016 Reading Written by Alexander Nachaj |  Best Scene Screenplay – LE CHAT NOIR April 2016 Reading Written by Paula Sewell |
 TV PILOT Screenplay – MAILROOMIES April 2016 Reading Written by Jacques Edeline |  Short Screenplay – GARY’S GIRLS April 2016 Reading Written by Mckenzie Trent |
 TV PILOT Screenplay – MARRIAGE EQUALITY April 2016 Reading Written by Jamie Pierce |  Short Story Reading – COUNT WILLIAM April 2016 Reading Written by Tegon Maus |
 Short Story Reading – MASSIVE MASTIFF April 2016 Reading Written by Brian O’Flaherty |  1st Scene Screenplay – THE WEDDING THIEF April 2016 Reading Written by Brett Bacon |
****
Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
See the best of the November 2015 Film Festival:
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/november_2015_film_festival.html
CHICKLAND was an overwhelming audience favourite at the November 2015 FEEDBACK Film Festival.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of CHICKLAND:
CHICKLAND, 11min, France, Comedy/Sci-Fi
Directed by Stanislav Graziani
Bubu and Toufik think they are the next Steve Jobs and Martin Zuckerberg… They have implanted a chip in their brain, which gives them access to the web… giving them instant access to universal knowledge. For their first experiment, they test it on picking up girls…
Read the audience transcript of CHICKLAND:
Moderator, Matthew Toffolo: Chickland, the film from France. Some of the greatest inventions of all time have been created to help guys pick up girls or girls pick up guys. This is one of those things and I have a feeling that within our lifetime we are going to have something very similar to this; a device where we can pick up information like this.
Audience Member 1: I thought the premise of the film was absolutely hilarious and very timely, like with Google Glass. Apparently the motivation for the invention of Facebook was to get the geek squad out of their dorm rooms and into the coolest parties. I actually found the film quite convincing and even the reaction of the women to their pick-up lines and being able to create that connection. I thought it was very believable.
Audience Member 2: Yeah I also thought it was interesting that you said it was a devise to pick up girls and it should give them all this confidence and every advantage but in the end you see both of them, their personalities and their humanity show through in very different ways, but it doesn’t work out for either one of them.
Moderator: Obviously it could work out but I guess they get a soul in the end, right? I guess with one of the guys it could have worked out.
Audience Member 3: Part of it is, they get in over their heads. He’s trying to talk about opera and stuff and he’s mispronouncing words, and he doesn’t really know what he’s saying even though he’s got the information in front of him. That reminded me of a bit I saw from when they rigged game shows in the 1950s. There was a woman who was asked “who wrote The Three Musketeers?” and she says “Alexander Dumb-ass” because she’d been given the answer but she didn’t know [how to pronounce] the answer. And here he was having the same kind of reaction.
Moderator: It’s Dumas, right?
Audience Member 3: Yes, yes. But the woman didn’t know. So it was the same thing here. He was deeply over his head but he was trying to have this conversation with her. I’m interested, how did the women in the room react to this film as opposed to the guys. I mean on some level I’m cheering for these guys – even though its… You know what I mean?
Moderator: Yeah, I get it… We’re kind of douchebags. We are cheering for them! We’re rooting for them all the way.
Audience Member 4: I really did appreciate the premise, I thought it was fascinating and also very current and timely, especially with the new app “Happen” that came out recently. But I actually found the premise a little unnerving and kind of creepy. I was like, oh my God this could be happening to me and I wouldn’t even know! So I did find it a little creepy but only because it’s right on the edge of what could potentially happen.
Moderator: Yeah but we also already do it, like say you go on a blind date. You can look up that person and know all this information about them. It was kind of a clever movie where you see the guy trying to pick up the girl and she was trying to be clever with him and joke around but he was too focused on getting her attention that it all went over his head. We still need that human contact. That’s why it didn’t work out for that one guy.
Audience Member 5: What I liked about this whole film was actually the title, “Chickland”, because you have these two guys trying to pick up these “chicks” and in the end they both “chicken” out.
Moderator: Oh the double meaning, gotcha. Okay so we’ve got the guys rooting for the pick-up and a couple comments from girls saying their disturbed by it. Are there any other female comments about this film? It is happening. Eventually, right?
Audience Member 6: I think it’s hilarious that the women were so intuitive and on the ball. I think that was a fabulous portrayal.
Audience Member 7: I think I’ve read or seen some similar types of premises in “Black Mirror” which is a fantastic TV series that talks about stuff like this as well as science fiction. This is less scary because this is just them getting information, and I don’t know about everyone else but spewing information doesn’t really create a connection. But in future, being able to detect emotion – that’s scarier because that’s harder to detect than just spewing information. If you can get into a deeper level, that’s way scarier.
Moderator: Yeah that is very scary. I can’t even imagine how they would even be able to invent that. But I guess they could eventually, right?
Audience Member 7: Well they know how to do data analysis and facial recognition. There’s all this technology around.
Moderator: Yeah, so funny but creepy at the same time.
See the best of the November 2015 Film Festival:
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/november_2015_film_festival.html
THE LAST POST was the winner of Best Performances at the November 2015 FEEDBACK Film Festival.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of THE LAST POST:
THE LAST POST, 15min, UK, Comedy/Social Media
Directed by Adam Preston
A halfwit is invited to speak at the funeral of a girl he only knew through the internet.
Read the audience transcript of THE LAST POST:
Matthew Toffolo, Moderator: The Last Post, a film from the UK, another timely film. Imagine one of us passes away and information is gathered from Facebook in order to write our eulogy. It’s probably going to happen at some point. Would anyone like to make the first comment?
Audience Member 1: I was in a film group discussion a couple of weeks ago and we were discussing “Inside Out”, the Pixar film, which is sort of premised on this idea of being able to compartmentalize our emotions. I think this film kind of talked about how, particularly the millennial generation can do this. I kind of balk at that idea because I sometimes wonder are kids these days thinking that these are their emotions? Do they think they are actually expressing their real motions in text messages?
Moderator: I guess it’s on an individual basis and this film is making fun of a guy who can’t differentiate because he and his roommate live in this online world. So he thinks he did a good job, but obviously we’re in on the joke that he doesn’t do a good job. Or maybe some of you thought it really was a great eulogy! There’s also the commentary on the girl who dies because she’s so focused on her selfies that it became the reason she died. Eventually there will be a Selfie Addicts, like AA but SA.
Audience Member 2: Not really about the content, but that Robert Downy Jr. guy, his physical comedy like the way he sat down on the bean bag and the little hand movements he makes were the funniest bits for me. Just the subtle physical things, for me was the best part.
Moderator: So the lead is who you’re saying is Robert Downy Jr. He’s gonna be happy to hear that!
Audience Member 2: Yeah, he’s Robert Downy Jr. in a few years.
Moderator: Yeah, it was really well performed in terms of tone and style.
Audience Member 3: I actually saw a video on Facebook of these people fighting over getting in each others selfies, and one guy just threw the other guy over a boat because he got so pissed that he got in his selfie. That’s what this showed me, she’s jumping out of a plane and she’s going to die but wants still wants to take a selfie. I really enjoyed the movie, the humor fit me perfectly, it’s great.
Moderator: It’s also like, if you’re not in Facebook world, if you’re not in that universe and someone passes away and you just jump into this world, you might assume that two people must be really good friends because they interact with each other when they don’t actually even know each other. There’s no emotional connection.
Audience Member 4: Is it making that social commentary that this girl who apparently did all kinds of things but she didn’t have anyone she knew well enough or who cared about her enough to come to her funeral or say something real. They had to dig into the Internet and find someone who was a troll on her Facebook friends list. That’s very sad when you think of it in that way, isn’t it? She didn’t have any real friends.
Moderator: Yeah, so it’s a millennial guy making a film that makes fun of his own generation in a lot of ways.
Audience Member 5: I just wanted to make an observation about while I was watching the film and enjoying it, I kind of also looked around and found that everyone else was enjoying it as well. That’s kind of interesting given that the film has a lot of underlying inside jokes and the way that they mention different kinds of emotions, just the fact that everybody gets it regardless of their age, or whatever it is. The internet and Facebook and that social media online life has become so widespread that everyone just gets it regardless of whether they’re on it all the time or not. That was kind of interesting to me. I would have thought that there would have been at least a few people that maybe didn’t get those jokes but the film seemed to go over really well so that was very interesting for me.
Moderator: People text a lot too so the emoticons are present there too. The person beside me was laughing a lot too. Sorry to single you out but you were totally into this.
Audience Member 6: I really liked the way the subject was treated. I think about death and the way they mixed it with social media and how they’re treating exactly what we’re doing in our lives. So it’s an in-your-face kind of a thing and I really enjoyed it because that’s what’s going to happen in the future, it’s happening right now. So yeah, I really liked it.
