"Smuggler's Cay"

“25 words or less” – A redneck transplant begins smuggling drugs to America through his Caribbean island beach bar with the help of a shady businessman from New York City
Smuggler's Cay Screenplay

"Cliques"

“25 words or less” – A group of teachers continually battle several liberal teachers who are determined to implement radical leftist policies within a rural Pennsylvania public high school

Full Summary:

“High school is filled with petty, vindictive, downright immature spoiled brats who spend their entire days gossiping and plotting the destruction of their rivals.  But what if I told you the worst offenders weren’t the students but the teachers themselves?  That’s right, the students can’t hold a candle to the teachers’ behavior around these halls.” 

Thus begins “Cliques” which opens on the first day of class for the new school year at James Buchanan Memorial Public High School in rural Pennsylvania, a school everyone just simply calls it “The Buck.”  Judging from the cast of teachers that roam the classroom and hallways, the school is rather fittingly named after one of the worst Presidents in United States.

At the center of the story are two groups of teachers that constantly battle each other for school supremacy and control of the minds and hearts of its impressionable students.  On one side are the self-described “Cools,” a quartet of laid-back teachers that are well liked by the students, led by gym teacher Greg McCarthy.  He’s joined by Omar Williams, an African-American history teacher, Karen Dudley, a teacher of general business, and Danny Scofield, the perpetually present beloved substitute teacher.

“The Cools” normally are very carefree and always looking to have fun while ensuring their students do well and graduate.  However, there is one thing that always manage to raise their ire and get under the skin and that is “The Intellects.”  This is the other quartet group of educators led by Betsy Cass, an uptight, militant liberal English teacher, who get upset about and offended over anything and everything and are hell-bent on instituting their radical leftist agenda against the unwitting student population.  She’s joined by Randy Jones, a hardcore activist art teacher, Oliver Schwartz, an overly politically correct, apologist AP political science teacher, and Doris Green, an older, nerdy revisionist history teacher.   

Whether it’s teaching the student body about microaggressions, the perceived wrongs of cultural appropriation, white privilege, white racial socialization or the myths of meritocracy, just to name a few of her most favorite militant liberal theories, Betsy and her group walk around with the air of thinking they know what’s best for everyone else even as they spout beliefs that generally seem detached from reality.

With the principal lacking any real power in the school due to Betsy’s bullying tactics, it’s up to Greg McCarthy and his fellow “Cool” teachers to challenge Betsy’s authority and her efforts to implement these radical policies every chance they get.

In the first episode, Betsy uses her notorious strong-arm tactics to single-handedly re-write the student handbook to incorporate countless rules that address the microaggressions and white privilege that she supposedly sees taking place daily, at least in her own mind. Having unveiled these hugely unpopular policies at a school-wide assembly on the second day of school, Betsy has very loudly drawn a figurative line in the sand in the philosophical battle for control over the school.  Although Greg doesn’t directly respond to her changes right away he promises his fellow teachers that he’s just biding his time and will fight back when the time is right…when that time comes there’s no doubt it’ll be all out war between the two cliques throughout the halls of “The Buck.”
Cliques Screenplay 

"Hope & Despair"

“25 words or less” – A hopelessly optimistic man contemplates making a major life change after becoming very discouraged over a lengthy string of bad dates and failed relationships

Full Summary:

Adam Hall has had a rough go at it on the New York City dating scene lately.  His most recent date excused herself from the bar to use her phone midway through their night out only to never be seen again.  This was just one in a long line of bad dates and failed relationships.

To understand how he got into this situation, Adam self-reflects through a series of flashbacks over the past year starting at the point where he asks out on a date a mutual friend of one of his best buddies.  Although she agrees, he fails to go through with it when his ex-girlfriend comes back into the picture.  This feisty, Latina ex-girlfriend can best be described as Adam’s kryptonite.  Although they’ve been separated for several years, she has a knack for coming back into his life periodically.  Each and every time that happens he forgets about anything else he’s doing and devotes his entire personal life to her.

In theory, this could be thought of as a very sweet gesture but in actuality it never has the fairytale ending that Adam desires.  After hanging out with her again for a few months he finally musters up enough strength to profess his love to her.  Unfortunately, his feelings are unrequited.  This sends him into an emotional tailspin which turns him into a voracious dater, as he seemingly looks to fill a void that was left by yet another exit from his ex-girlfriend.

Unbeknownst to Adam, he was about to go on a dating spree with some of the craziest and strangest women that New York City has to offer, which was no easy task.  There was the Swede who would become verbally abusive and call the cops on him after doing coke late at night.  Next there was the overly psychoanalytical girl who seemingly enjoyed debating herself over whether Adam was a sociopath or a psychopath.  Then there was the Russian who left him stranded at the airport for a weekend trip to Iceland.  But not to be outdone, there was a girlfriend who managed to elope with another man during a trip to Las Vegas.  Continuing on, there was the girl that passed out drunk in her guacamole during a date and also the girl who got up and vanished midway through sex.  The list went on and on, Adam literally had over a dozen relationships with varying degrees of dysfunction all while still secretly pining for his kryptonite ex-girlfriend, who has cut off all communications with him, to return.

Returning to present day, he finally meets a girl who he thought was his perfect match.  This Latvian woman was smart, pretty, fun, cultured and intriguing and Adam was totally smitten with her…until she ghosted him.  Yes, although they had great dates together and there were no signs that she wasn’t into him, she vanished one day without a trace.  Texts went unanswered and phone calls were not returned.  Unfortunately, this behavior was yet just another incident in what became a disturbing pattern in Adam’s life which led to endless frustrated.

Devastated, Adam takes to the observation deck at Rockefeller Center and announces to the city that it has officially beaten him.  He contemplates transferring to his company’s San Francisco office in search of a fresh life and a new beginning.  Expecting huge pushback from his family and friends, Adam is surprised when he receives full support from everyone.  These people already knew what he has finally admitted, that a fresh start is exactly what he needs to re-energize himself.

Although leaving is bittersweet, he decides to go through with the transfer and sets his sights on a new life in San Francisco; but not before he has a final blow out night in New York City.  As luck would have it, after finally giving up on any sort of reconciliation with his kryptonite ex-girlfriend, Adam ends up meeting the real “girl of his dreams” at his going-away party and hangs out with her until the early morning hours.  Of course there’s one major barrier standing in the way of their budding romance, his flight to San Francisco leaves the next night.  Where does Adam ultimately think he’ll find true happiness?  Having been burned one too many times in past relationships, does he resist the temptation to stay and go through with his move across country?  Or does he decide to give city love another chance and stay in New York City?

Hope & Despair Screenplay 

"Flacks"

Tagline – “Believe Nothing, Question Everything”

“25 words or less” – The lengths a pair of Hollywood publicists will go to hide their unstable celebrity clients’ secrets and cover up their indiscretions is explored

Full Summary:

Jacob Peters and Katie Monroe are ambitious Hollywood publicists who would do anything to promote and maintain their clients’ pristine public images.  Two years ago they left their PR jobs to partner together in a new firm with a small, but strong, nucleus of celebrity clients.  They’re also in a long-term relationship with each other that occasionally causes stress at home which tends to boil over into the workplace.  At the center of their domestic dispute is Katie’s desire to get married and start a family, which Jacob has been avoiding while he concentrates on building their firm into an industry powerhouse with his business partner and girlfriend.   

When it comes to their valued clients, it’s up to Jacob and Katie and their PR firm, Monroe & Peters, to pick up the pieces from the messes they make, cover up their transgressions and tell tall tales that put them in a positive light among the unsuspecting, gullible public.  At this stage of their fledging boutique PR agency, their client roster includes five famous celebrities in the world of Hollywood and music who all have ties with Jacob and Katie through family connections or the neighborhood they grew up in: 

Brent Sheridan is a handsome movie star and closeted gay in his mid-thirties who tries to suppress his feelings through raging alcoholism.  To him, and his publicists, it doesn’t matter how big of a star he becomes or how much America evolves socially, there’s still a huge fear of turning off the heartland and affecting his box office sales by coming out.  However, his heavy drinking tends to put him in precarious situations that endangers him both physically and mentally.

In the first episode, Brent breaks his wrist while trashing his hotel penthouse suite after the male co-star of his current production rejects his sexual advances.  Fearing he’ll be fired from the movie if the truth comes out, it’s up to Jacob to fix the situation by planting a fake story in the press about Brent’s “made up” heroics to explain his recent injury.    

Then there’s Dylan Dame, a goody-two-shoes pop singer in her early-twenties who obsessively thinks non-stop about her painstakingly crafted public persona.  She goes through great lengths to never be, or say anything, controversial because she doesn’t want to damage her image with any of her fans.  However, tired of always singing “bubble gum” pop music, Dylan asks Katie in the first episode to set her up with a famous, or semi-famous, black guy so that she can gain “street cred” as she prepares to record a pop, R&B album with Timbaland.

There’s also the hot rap group Double Down featuring African-American twin brothers in their early twenties, Ja’Von and Da’Von Downs.  Although they’ve had tremendous success early in their careers, they hardly ever see eye-to-eye on most decisions and occasionally, and embarrassingly, fight publicly over their creative differences and girls.  It’s up to both Jacob and Katie to continually put a positive public spin on their tenuous relationship.

In this episode, it’s up to Katie to act as a mediator when Ja’Von tries to force a bizarre movie idea, and the accompanying action figures, on his younger brother (who’s only younger by four and a half minutes), Da’Von, both of which put him a very negative light while Ja’Von comes out looking like a superstar.

Finally there’s Courtney Ford, a young, flaky, coked up, promiscuous, up-and-coming Hollywood actress in her mid-twenties who’s known just as much for her promiscuity, especially among married actors, and drug use as she is for her acting.  In fact, she’s gaining such a reputation around town as a homewrecker that Courtney puts the onus on Jacob to fix it.

In this episode, Courtney freaks out after learning she lost her purse at a West Hollywood restaurant which had a large amount of cocaine in it.  She doesn’t care about anything else in the purse, except her coke, so she asks Jacob to find it.  Eventually, the mystery man that originally found her purse calls Jacob and offers to hand it back with all the contents intact in exchange for a sexual rendezvous with Courtney.

This leads to the unique “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style ending where Jacob asks for audience participation to help inform Courtney’s plotline moving into the next episode.  This is a style that will be employed at the end of each episode featuring a different character’s precarious situation for that week and multiple potential solutions for viewers to vote on.  In this episode, Jacob offers the viewing audience four options on how he should handle the mysterious caller which includes decisions like paying the guy off, or hiring a private investigator to find dirt so he can reverse blackmail him, or actually offering up Courtney to keep him quiet.  Viewers have until midnight three days after the original airing to vote.  The option that gets the highest vote total will be what’s incorporated as a continuation of the character’s storyline in the next episode.  So what will Jacob and Katie, or Courtney, have to do in order to protect the young starlet’s image?
Flacks Screenplay

"Missed You"

Tagline – “One Man’s Quest To Find What He's Missing”

“25 words or less” – A New York City man goes through elaborate means to find a woman he met on a subway platform after accidentally losing her phone number

Full Summary:

Ben Farmer is a New York City commercial real estate broker in his early-thirties who’s lucky in business but unlucky in love.  After a series of disastrous relationships, each worse than the previous one, Ben finds himself at his wit’s end with his personal life.  Worst of all, his frustrations have reached a tipping point where he’s totally soured on the opposite sex.  

This all changes on the night of a heavy snowstorm with a chance encounter on a Union Square station subway platform.  While snaking his way through the crowd of people waiting too long for the next subway to Brooklyn, Ben accidentally bumps into Stephanie, a pretty girl also in her early-thirties, who was too busy checking her email to notice she was walking right into someone.

After mutual apologies, the two quickly strike up a conversation as they wait for their respective trains to come.  Wanting to continue their talk, Stephanie decides to skip her train when it comes into the station opting instead to wait for Ben’s train which she can take as well.  When the train finally comes, their conversation extends all the way to Stephanie’s stop in Brooklyn.  After a few awkward moments, she offers Ben her cell phone number which he takes down just as the doors close.

Elated, Ben breaks into song once he gets out of the subway in his Bay Ridge neighborhood.  In an homage to Gene Kelly’s “Singin’ in the Rain,” Ben sings and dances down the street during the heavy snowstorm.  As he sings, he also playfully throws snowballs, high-fives and hugs strangers, swings around a streetlight pole, helps an old lady cross the street, twirls an umbrella over his head, stomps through puddles of slush and makes a snow angel on the sidewalk; all while professing his love for his new love, Stephanie.  

But there’s one major problem that suddenly tempers his overwhelming excitement, Ben makes a shocking discovery as he checks his phone when he gets to his apartment building…he never saved Stephanie’s number.

Undeterred, Ben decides to use the power of internet search the next morning to find Stephanie based on the scant information he was able to pick up during their conversation. He combs through countless Facebook profiles and checks LinkedIn but comes up with nothing.  He even goes so far as to create a “missed connections” post on Craigslist but this doesn’t get him closer to finding Stephanie either.

He decides that more elaborate methods are in order so he enlists one of his best friends, and co-workers, to help him stakeout Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square where she works for the company as a buyer.  This also doesn’t create any tangible leads.

While Ben conducts his seemingly fruitless search both on- & offline, Stephanie laments to her younger sister, Kate, that Ben never called or even bothered to text her.  This leads to a wider conversation where she expresses her frustrations over finding that one true gentleman that she’s looking for within a city of millions.  After a long night at a club, she even goes so far as to break into song at a late night pizza joint about her desire to find “the one.”   

After nothing else works, Ben decides to make one last ditch effort to find Stephanie against the advice of his friends and co-workers who think it’s best for him to finally move on.  This time he goes to Williamsburg on a Sunday afternoon to explore the coffee shops, brunch hot spots and laundromats that line the busy streets in her neighborhood.  He admits it’s a “Hail Mary” attempt but in his mind he’s all out of options and he doesn’t want to give up on finding who he believes is his one true love.

Will Ben eventually find Stephanie?  If so, what will her reaction to him be?  Will they ever go on that elusive first date that both have wanted since the day they met each other?  These questions and more will be answered in this romantic comedy / musical hybrid which aims to tell an inspirational story of hope, desire, dream fulfillment and the power of persistence.
Missed You Screenplay

"Split"

Tagline – “A Romance Between A Man And His Blackjack Dealer”

“30 words or less” – A man gambles all the money in his joint bank account, and falls for his blackjack dealer, after finding his wife cheating on him during their honeymoon in Las Vegas

Full Summary:

Daniel Cooper, a non-descript, average-looking man in his mid-thirties walks through The Cosmopolitan casino floor in Las Vegas on a mission.  Armed with a fistful of cash on a sleepy Tuesday night, he takes a seat at a quiet blackjack table in the center of the room.

There he quickly strikes up a conversation with the attractive blackjack dealer, a woman in her early-thirties named Debbie McBride.  Not looking like a high-roller, Debbie initially questions Daniel about his intent once he asks for $50,000 in chips.  This rather harmless question launches them into a two hour conversation interspersed with many hands of blackjack as they talk about their lives, both past and present, what they like and what they dislike.

So why is Daniel, a seemingly “ordinary” man, gambling such a large sum of money?  Because only hours earlier, he discovered his drunken wife having sex with a random man in the men’s bathroom of a well-known nightclub.  And the kicker?  Daniel and his wife were on their honeymoon.  This blatant act of adultery and dishonesty instinctively leads Daniel to go to the nearest branch of his bank to empty their joint bank account.  Since they’re in Vegas, he decides to gamble away all their money at the casino which is what brings him to Debbie’s blackjack table.

Daniel finds a sympathetic ear in Debbie as she listens to his marital woes as she shares her own stories of past relationship problems.  What starts as ordinary conversation between a player passing time between hands and a cordial blackjack dealer quickly turns into innocent flirting which then evolves into overt seduction as the night goes on and the subject matter they discuss becomes more varied.

The story is focused on the conversation and how a casual relationship between strangers can quickly blossom into something more serious.  This focus is seen through the story presentation as virtually all of it takes place in one setting – a blackjack table – and between only two characters – Daniel, the player, and Debbie, the dealer.

The three main questions to be answered by the end of the night: Does Daniel win big or does he lose the $50,000?  Does his wife try to reconcile with him?  What happens between Daniel and Debbie after Daniel finally decides to leave the table?

Split Screenplay

"Out of Bounds"

“25 words or less” – The life and times of a hard-partying, chain-smoking, drug-abusing, first round-drafted hotshot rookie sensation, who happens to be a professional football kicker, is examined

Full Summary:

Bobby “Crazy Leg” Crenshaw is a hotshot rookie who was drafted in the first round by the Texas Bulls of the United Football League, he’s also a kicker…but not just any kicker, he’s a dual threat who can punt and placekick the ball.

A homegrown talent from Texas, Bobby is not your average athlete.  In lieu of intense weight training and practice that occupy his other teammates who play more physically demanding positions, he spends his time drinking heavily, chain smoking incessantly, flirting with any girl that gets within striking distance, smoking weed and popping molly.  He’s quite a character, but a character that everyone loves to be around on the football field; from the skinny, lily-white backup kicker to the 350 pound defensive lineman.

His goofy demeanor is egged on by his ever-present tight circle of friends which include two of his childhood buddies that he played high school football with – Ashton and Grant – and his older brother, Connor.

In the first episode, Bobby, who’s being interviewed for a feature article in ESPN the Magazine, talks liberally about his use of recreational drugs.  This enrages the commissioner’s office who orders that Crenshaw be randomly drug tested after their next game.

Luckily, the Texas Bulls management team has a mole in the commissioner’s office and finds out about the drug test beforehand.  Bobby assures the owner and general manager though that they don’t need to worry about anything since his comments in the magazine were taken out of context and he’s actually been clean for a while.  He chalks up his comments as the innocent bragging of an admittedly immature kid and said he’d pass the drug test with flying colors.

The owner and general manager are satisfied with Bobby’s answers and go about their business but there is a problem, a major one.  Bobby is lying since he’s still a regular and habitual user of all kinds of illegal narcotics and he has no plans of stopping either.

Panicked, Bobby stops by his older sister, Jenna’s, house for a seemingly impromptu visit after practice one day.  But it’s anything but an impromptu stop as he needs his four year old nephew’s urine in order to pass the drug test without suspicion.  Will his sister allow Bobby to use her son’s urine?  If so, can he pull off his caper successfully or will his fake sample be detected by league officials?  Will he be suspended or will he continue living his life with no regard to the rules or societal norms? 

Out of Bounds Screenplay

"Hell Week"

Tagline – “It’s going to be torture”

“25 words or less” – An awkward fraternity pledge comes back from the dead to seek revenge against the brothers who were responsible for his death during a hazing ritual

Full Summary:

It’s another Fall semester at Rockefeller University in Virginia which means a new pledge class of bright-eyed, impressionable freshmen being initiated into the popular Zeta Beta Alpha fraternity.  We open during hell week and the pledges are being forced to drink copious amounts of beer until they puke by the strict, overbearing pledge master, Chad, and his fellow fraternity brothers.

Every pledge class has that one awkward kid that doesn’t quite fit in and is the whipping boy for the upperclassmen and this year is no different.  That whipping boy this time is Jasper, a skinny, frail, boyish-looking freshmen who is pledging the fraternity because of his desire to be accepted by someone, anyone.  Jasper’s asked to stay behind by Chad after the rest of the class has been dismissed following the drinking competition.  That’s when the fraternity brothers force him to drink his own vomit.  This is just one more incidence of hazing in a semester filled with them.

The pledge class “hell week” culminates with Zeta’s legendary “Wooly Mammoth” party, named after their infamous jungle juice, but of course Jasper and his fellow pledge brothers have to be on duty while the upperclassmen have fun.  Jasper is specifically assigned the most menial tasks like cleaning the kitchen and mopping up the bathroom and is forced to watch while everyone else rages around him.  There’s a slight glimmer of hope when he starts chatting up a fellow freshman girl but it’s quickly dashed when Chad swoops in and steals her away from him.

Later in the night after the party has died down, several of the fraternity brothers decide to cure their boredom by hazing the pledges so they gather up the class and bring them to the lake on campus.  There, in the middle of the night, the brothers led by Chad and Zach, the fraternity president, demand that the pledges strip down to their underwear and swim to a fountain located in the middle of the lake.  Jasper protests claiming that he’s not a good swimmer and doesn’t want to do the task.

Instead of compassion, his protests are met with ridicule as the brothers strip him totally naked, to the laughter of the gathered crowd, and kick him into the lake.  The pledges - drunk, tired and disoriented - swim to the fountain and back, as the crowd continues to drink and mock them.  However one pledge never makes it back.  After a couple brothers jump into the lake to frantically look for this missing pledge they realize that Jasper has drowned.

The fraternity leadership is faced with a choice – either report Jasper’s drowning and risk an investigation that could see the fraternity kicked off of campus and the brothers arrested or they could bury the body and pretend like nothing happened.  After a short debate, the fraternity president decides to send a few brothers to bury Jasper’s body at a park miles away from campus.

Fast forward one year later and it’s another Fall semester at Rockefeller University with another new pledge class for Zeta Beta Alpha.  Jasper, still officially missing, is just a distant memory, if a memory at all, to most on campus.  While many have forgotten about Jasper, he is determined not to forget about the fraternity that killed him even in death as he comes back from beyond the grave to terrorize his former brothers during hell week.

At first Jasper’s ghost engages in harmless menacing of the fraternity brothers – staring them down in the library, chasing them throughout campus – but his actions quickly escalate to more harmful practices such as throwing knives which barely miss his targets.  Things culminate at the “Wooly Mammoth” party where Jasper thinks of new and inventive ways to torture people as payback to the fraternity brothers and their girlfriends who ridiculed him throughout his pledging.    

Hell Week Screenplay

"Caesar"

“30 words or less” – A delusional and sadistic megalomaniac with a penchant for sex, cross-dressing and gladiator fighting plots the assassination of his tyrannical uncle so he can become emperor in first century Rome

Full Summary:

It’s the first century in Ancient Rome and the septuagenarian emperor, Cornelius, is ruling his empire with an iron fist.  Cornelius is a tyrant that leads his people by fear who has stayed in power for over twenty years due to the support of the dreaded Praetorian Guard.

Outraged by his despotic rule and pushed by their desire to return Rome back to the people, several influential members of the senate request the emperor’s presence in the chamber to discuss funding for a public works project. It’s during this session of the senate where Cornelius is assassinated in broad daylight in front of a large audience.

The emperor’s son, Justus, a righteous imperial figure, provides the plotting senators with the necessary backing needed to successfully assassinate the sitting emperor and keep the Praetorian Guard at bay.  A big proponent of ending his own family’s dynasty rule and handing Rome back to the people in the form of a democracy, Justus takes a celebratory trip to his cousin’s, Magnus, palace to thank him for his help in the plot.

It is at this meeting where Magnus turns on Justus and assassinates him as well as the three scheming senators.  The assassination plot crafted by Justus and the senators to return Rome to the people was actually spurred on by Magnus who saw an opportunity to ultimately plot his ascension to the seat of emperor.  His deceitful plot unfolds perfectly.

To celebrate the start of his reign, Magnus embarks on a weekend long orgy at his palace and orders two weeks of gladiator fights all while being unfazed and annoyed by the needs of the Roman citizens, many of whom are suffering and struggling just to stay alive.

This series tells the story of this delusional and sadistic megalomaniac with a penchant for sex, cross-dressing and gladiator fighting as he rules Rome with an iron fist just like his uncle.

The idiosyncrasies that make Magnus a terribly fascinating individual are also explored.  His nearly sexual relationship with his horse, his desire to fight in the gladiator ring against the best competition in Rome, his use of Jupiter as a spiritual counsel, his secret residences at a city brothel as a transvestite prostitute and his unflinching brutality frame the world Magnus lives in as he tries to navigate his way through his rule while avoiding the fate that has befallen most of his relatives that have come before him as emperor, assassination. 

Caesar Screenplay

"Reversal of Fortune"

Tagline – “A Story of Gluttony, A Story of The American Dream”

"25 words or less” – Against all odds, a down-on-his-luck, recently unemployed man joins Major League Eating in hopes of winning the Nathan’s 4th of July hot dog eating contest

Full Summary:
Billy Henderson is a ne’er do well that never did.  A portly, frustrated, incompetent but kind-hearted native Brooklynite living in Bay Ridge, Billy was recently laid off from his job as a video store clerk.  After going on interview after interview, he soon realizes that he possesses no discernible skills needed in today’s work environment that make him attractive to a prospective employer.

After multiple job rejections, his childhood friends from the neighborhood – Dennis, Gary and Lori - take him out to the local Buffalo Wild Wings in an effort to cheer him up.  While there they stumble upon a wing eating contest that’s looking for competitors from the crowd to participate so the friends encourage Billy to enter.  After initially rebuffing them, he begrudgingly accepts.  Billy ends up winning so impressively that Donald Gorge, an over-the-top, loud, abrasive representative from Major League Eating who was present to watch the competition, approaches to talk to him about joining the circuit.

With so little confidence, he initially declines his offer saying that it wasn’t for him but does agree to take the gentleman’s business card.  After Donald leaves, his female friend, Lori, begs him to reconsider.  Lori, who’s currently dating a guy that everyone except for her knows is a douchebag, is oblivious to Billy’s secret crush on her and thus unaware of the power that her words hold over him.  Billy promises her, and the rest of his friends, that he will take the night to think the offer over.

The next morning, he calls Donald and accepts his offer to join Major League Eating.  He’s immediately thrust into a surprisingly intense training camp that concentrates on both the physical and mental aspects, the stomach and the mind, of competitive eating.  Not only does he learn how to eat, swallow properly and work out his jaw muscles but he also runs sprints and long distances and does push-ups and sit-ups along with other calisthenics to raise his stamina and get into some sort of physical shape.

Deemed ready by MLE, Billy is quickly thrust into competition – an all-you-can-eat shrimp battle at Red Lobster, a never ending bowl of pasta race at Olive Gardens, a Bloomin’ Onion free-for-all at Outback Steakhouse, a dumpling feast at a small place in Chinatown, a pizza challenge under the Brooklyn Bridge, and even an all-you-can-eat tongue contest on a farm in Kansas.  However, he soon learns that competing in a local neighborhood wing eating competition is much more challenging than going up again the world’s best when he loses his first several competitions. 

His arch nemesis is the seven-time Nathan’s Famous 4th of July hot dog eating defending champion, Haruto “The Typhoon” Matsusaka, a man that never misses an opportunity to belittle and besmirch the new guy at every stop on the circuit.  The outrageous cast of MLE superstars is rounded out colorful characters including Tommy “The Hungry, Hungry Hippo” Potamus, Nancy “The Real Slim Lady” Bitterman, “The Spearmint Rhinoceros” Joey Spearmint, “The Glutton From Sutton” Charles Chesterfield and “The Praying Mantis;” all with much more experience than the newbie, Billy Henderson.

Filled with self-doubt, Billy begins to question what he’s doing as a competitor in the MLE.  A job offer to become a lumberjack in Maine soon arises so he needs to decide whether to escape the clutches of his iron-clad contract with the MLE and take another dead-end job for low pay or press forward, against all odds, with his newfound dream and a shot at immortality by entering the final qualifying event, the “Fenway Frank Battle” held outside Fenway Park, in order to join the field for the Nathan’s Famous 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Will Billy win the qualifying event to move onto the famed Nathan’s hot dog eating contest?  Does he have a shot of overthrowing the near invincible seven-time defending Nathan’s hot dog eating champion, Haruto “The Typhoon” Matasusaka?  What will become of him and his close friend, Lori?  It’s a real David and Goliath story if ever there was one.

Reversal of Fortune Screenplay

"Renegades"

“40 words or less” – An ambitious hotel pool boy in the late 1970’s becomes manager of Miami’s most infamous nightclub and devises a plan to assassinate Fidel Castro with the help of the club’s notorious patrons in order to open a franchise in Havana

Full Summary:

It’s 1978 and The Renegade Hotel on South Bayshore Drive in Coconut Grove is at the epicenter of the drug fueled, high-society Miami party scene.  Carlos Estrada, a handsome Cuban in his late-twenties, is a pool boy at the hotel who spends most of his time on his hands and knees scrubbing tiles while the drug kingpin guests around him constantly flaunt their money, get high and drunk and cavort with young models less than half their age.

One especially wealthy drug dealer, Ariel Mendez, soon befriends the disgruntled young man and asks him to do a series of menial tasks.  Having proven his worth, Ariel quickly takes Carlos under his wing, even inviting him as his guest to the ultra-exclusive private nightspot attached to the hotel, The Renegade Club.

According to Carlos, The Renegade Club was “the epicenter of the cocaine jazz age and 1970’s Miami decadence.  The club was so exclusive even I couldn’t walk in here as a hotel employee.  Rumor has it a yearly membership cost $20,000.  Sure, the place was ultra-exclusive but everyone who’s anyone came here on any given night.  There were flashy drug dealers, their wannabe hangers-on, gun runners, politicians and legitimate South American businessmen desperately trying to become fixtures on the burgeoning Miami nightlife scene.  The Kennedys’ were regulars and so was Governor Reagan.  There were athletes, singers, celebrities, Hollywood starlets, bankers, Cuban refugees both old and new, every hot girl within a 50 miles radius whether they were paid or not, and even the occasional exiled dictator from some small third-world Caribbean country that no one’s ever heard of.  But definitely no pool boys were here.  If you were famous or infamous, no trip to Miami would be complete without a stop at The Renegade Club.  Hell, rumor had it, local law enforcement, and even the fucking CIA, was known to visit the place, and why not?  If you wanted to know what illegal activities were going on in Miami…or Latin America or South America for that matter, and who the players are, you’d come here.  You really had to see it to believe it.”

The only thing that rivaled the excesses seen and done in The Renegade Club were the actions and activities taking place in the hotel suites above.  Depravity and debauchery were the rule virtually every night in the hotel suites which offered privacy from the outside world and a place to continue the party after the club closed, or start the party before it opened.

Carlos further ingratiates himself to his new benefactor by serving as a lookout for a drug shipment coming in by sea but when Mr. Mendez offers him a more permanent position in his organization, he surprisingly declines.  When pressed on why he declines, Carlos shares his lifelong dream with Ariel.  All he wants to do is run a nightclub with the stature of The Renegade, he wants to be the center of Miami nightlife, he wants to know everyone worth knowing and, more importantly, he wants them to know him.  After hearing this, Ariel uses his contacts, and unconventional tactics, to get Carlos a job at the club but he has to start off on the bottom rung of the ladder, a busboy.

In his new position, Carlos immediately butts heads with the current manager of the club, Paco, and quickly finds himself in a predicament that could mean his life.  To save his own life, while also positioning himself to become the new manager of The Renegade, Carlos pitches a rather insane plan to Ariel.  In order to build a coalition against the current manager, Carlos presents his idea of franchising the club into other markets, the first being Havana, and giving Ariel a piece of the business.  How was he going to open up an American franchise in communist Cuba?  By assassinating Fidel Castro of course.

Although thinking Carlos is crazy for such an overture, Ariel can’t help but also think about the lure of making money off the club so he decides to back Carlo’s ascension to manager, again through the use of unconventional tactics.  Once he takes charge, Carlos devises his assassination plot with the help of the club’s notorious patrons, all of whom have their own personal and professional hatred of Castro.  He enlists old Cuban refugees involved in the Bay of Pigs, drug dealers, legitimate South American businessmen, gun runners, financiers, speedboat world champions, even a couple rogue CIA agents and a well-known Latin American singer.

Their plan is simple enough, probably too simple, and involves sending a small invasion force on a fleet of drug smuggling fishing vessels and speedboats from the Keys to infiltrate the seaside palace of Castro’s during his birthday celebration and capture him while he and his security force are distracted by the singer’s performance.  Naturally the invasion fails spectacularly, and while many of the key players go back to life in Miami like nothing happened, several others die or are captured in Cuba.  The incidence does help instigate the Mariel boatlift later on. 

Renegades Screenplay

"Hank! And Henry"

Tagline – “Who Will Win?”

“25 words or less” – An eternally single man in his mid-30s can’t decide whether he wants to finally settle down or continue his life as a rambunctious playboy

Full Summary:

Henry “Hank” Bennett is conflicted.  A tall, handsome, man in his mid-thirties living a comfortable life in New York City, Henry constantly struggles between the idea of settling down or continuing his life as a playboy.

This conflict practically creates a split personality within Henry.  He’s Henry when pitching a million dollar deal at work or on a nice date at one of the city’s many upscale restaurants, but he easily switches to his “Hank” persona when out on the prowl with friends at a neighborhood dive bar looking for his next one-night stand.

Towards the beginning of the pilot episode, Henry delivers an internal monologue the morning after another one of his many one-night stands which frames the basic dilemma he has in life.

“…I’m a 37 year old sales director at Parker & Putnam, the world’s largest publishing company.  For better or worse, my job defines who I am; but it’s not just a job it’s my career.  If I didn’t do this, I don’t know what I’d be doing, it’s not like I have any other talents.  But I can sell, oh boy can I sell.  Obviously it’s a great skill to have for my professional life but it’s just as important in my personal life as well.  I’ve been known to charm the pants off some nice young ladies, literally; take the girl from this morning for instance.  Apparently I can be so good at my game that I bring girls home without even realizing it.  That was no joke earlier, I didn’t remember meeting her, let alone taking her home.  I must admit, I do have a few vices – women, the thrill of the sale, and drink, lots and lots of drinks. 

I have a nice, modest apartment in downtown New York City, I pay for location rather than space.  I’m well dressed, well spoken, well-heeled, well-endowed and, well, let me put it this way, I’m a guy’s guy who loves spending twelve hours straight in a bar watching Sunday football with his buddies but is also definitely a “take home to mom” kind of guy.  I’m a parent’s wet dream…and that’s not cockiness, that’s a fact.  Lest you think I’m all style and no substance, I’m involved in fundraising for the local chapter of the MS society which my grandmother suffered with for most of her adult life and I am a big brother to my little buddy Tyrese from the Bronx.  I see him once or twice a week, depending on my travel schedule; I take him to ball games, go out for ice cream and to the zoo, things like that.  Good kid I just hope he stays out of trouble, it’s not easy where he’s from. 

I love the ladies but I feel like it’s always an eternal struggle with me.  What type of guy do I want to be?  Some days I see my friends out with their significant others and they seem happy, I notice how they don’t have to go through the bullshit and drama that comes with dating and I think about how it might be finally time to settle down.  Then I go on a date or I’m in a bar surrounded by young women with loose morals and realize how much fun it is to be single with no emotional ties to anyone.  It’s almost like I have a split personality when it comes to girls.  Take Molly for instance, or Sally, whatever her name was.  Did you notice she called me Hank?  Not that many people call me Hank, barely anyone does, professionally I go by Henry because, well, because who’s going to take someone seriously named Hank?  But that’s exactly the point.  Look, when I go out to a bar or a club with the boys and we’re out cruising for ass and an easy hook-up, I take on my fun-loving, “I don’t give a fuck, let’s party” persona of Hank.  But when I meet a nice, lovely young woman out at an upscale lounge and ask to take her to a Danny Meyer restaurant, I’m Henry Bennett. 

What’s the difference between the two?  Well in all honesty, one’s more of a douchebag and one’s an alright, stand up gentleman.  And this is the thing, although I have fun being single, I’m envious of my friends in a strong relationship; but as much as I romanticize the idea of settling down, I’m not quite sure it’s for me. And that’s my struggle.”

So the main question that will be answered as his life plays out through the series is “who will ultimately win out?”  Hank or Henry?  
Hank! and Henry Screenplay

"The Barrio Boys"

Tagline – “The Baddest Bitch On The Streets”

“25 words or less” – A ruthless, cunning 42-year old mother of three controls the New York faction of a Puerto Rican street gang with stunning brutality and absolute power

Full Summary:

Carmen Rivera, a very religious, 42-year old mother of three, is just being released from Rikers Island prison after serving time for wire fraud which she insists was a government conspiracy to marginalize her standing within her community.

Hiding behind her guise as a community activist within The Barrio Boys Community & Cultural Center in East Harlem, Carmen is actually the head of the New York City chapter of a Puerto Rican street gang called “El Centro” that originated in the San Juan prison system.  While she has absolute control of the New York faction, she ultimately answers to the head bosses back in Puerto Rico.  Once she’s free from prison she wastes no time in quickly reestablishing her power on the streets.

During a welcome home party in her honor, Carmen, known affectionately as “La Madrina” to friends, family and gang members alike, assembles her leadership council with the only order of business being to kill enemies of The Barrio Boys - rival drug dealers encroaching on their turf, local business owners late on their protection payments, prosecution witnesses preparing to testify against jailed gang members, incarcerated former criminals who have ratted on gang activity, or gang members that question Carmen’s absolute authority, even if that gang member is her own cousin.

The gang features plenty of heavily tattooed, colorful characters, most of them ultra-violent and some who are consumed in simmering, petty intra-gang rivalries in order to improve their personal standing within the group.  At the center of Carmen’s world between the gang and her family are her three sons – Pablo Rivera, a tough and violent young male in his early twenties who’s already a gang veteran; “Li’l” Cesar Rivera, an impressionable, older teenager in high school named after Julius Caesar who is just getting started in the gang; and Alejandro “Bugsy” Rivera, a feisty ten year old who isn’t in the gang yet but does menial tasks for them like serving drinks, he’s nicknamed “Bugsy” after the infamous gangster Bugsy Siegel.

Headquartered in East Harlem while Carmen and her family live in Ridgewood, Queens; The Barrio Boys gang activity includes drug dealing in crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, LSD, crystal meth, PCP and ecstasy, local protection rackets, stealing, theft, kidnapping, murder, extortion, human trafficking, witness intimidation, home invasions, money laundering, burglary and weapons and explosives trafficking, just to name a few of their illicit acts.  While the group works closely with other chapters around the country, danger and violence lurks around every corner on any given day in the city; besides constantly fighting other gangs within their own ethnicity, The Barrio Boys also fight other ethnic gangs like Dominicans, Mexicans, Salvadorans, African-Americans, Chinese, Vietnamese and even the Italians and Irish.

Beyond the killing orders that Carmen issues during her first council meeting after her release from prison, the main focus of the first episode is two-fold.  Carmen approaches Angel Ortiz, the most feared enforcer of the gang who is currently incarcerated in the New York state prison system, to kill an informant against “El Centro” who is also serving time in the state prison system.  He accepts this assignment in return for a promotion within the gang when he gets out of jail.  In what may become a complicated matter later, Angel, who’s married with children, is also Carmen’s secret lover. 

 

Simultaneously, the bosses in Puerto Rico have asked Carmen to kill the leader of the New Jersey chapter who has become sloppy and “too big for his britches.”  She assigns her son, Pablo, who’s eager to climb up the organization’s hierarchy, to take care of the hit.  In return, and unbeknownst to his mother, he recruits his younger brother, Cesar, to be the triggerman and “make his bones” with his first killing for the gang.  Tensions rise on the final stakeout when the hit team’s obvious inexperience shines through and what happens at the end of it will be sure to have long-term repercussions throughout the “El Centro” organization and their affiliated chapters.
 The Barrio Boys Screenplay

"Turning Tricks"

Tagline – “In This World, The Women Hold All The Power”

 

“25 words or less” – An inside look at the personal and professional lives of a cutthroat madam and her four equally ruthless working girls at a Manhattan brothel.

 

Full Summary:

Patti Michaels is a non-nonsense, tough as nails madam who runs a very successful brothel from a non-descript four-bedroom apartment in a five-story walk-up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.  Catering to gentlemen from all walks of life, her accessible service offers them four distinct flavors to fulfill their every fantasy. 

 

There’s Becky Martin, a beautiful, tall, skinny model-looking redhead; Cindy Strong a girl next door-type brunette with a trashy edge to her; Natasha Williams, a tall, slender, mischievous African-American and Anastasia Chang, an innocent, petite, short Asian girl who moved to America at an early age.  All four are in their mid-twenties and drop dead gorgeous, all of them will also do whatever it takes to separate their clients from their money.

 

In this first episode, Becky and Patti manage to emasculate a married Wall Street bigwig client while simultaneously getting him to spend much more than he planned.  Becky also has to deal with the complicated relationship at home with her boyfriend who’s feeling increasingly threatened by her professional obligations.

 

Meanwhile, Patti is forced to flex her muscles, literally, when one of Anastasia’s clients gets a little to touchy feely and tries to force her to do things she doesn’t want to do.  This leads Patti to barge into the room amidst calls for help and literally drag the client out of the apartment by his balls.  In one action Patti puts men on notice, you don’t fuck with her or her girls.

 

While this is going on, Cindy is in her bedroom seducing a client out of his life savings.  The ultimate charmer who can make a man do anything, she professes her love to him and convinces him to be her boyfriend.  But of course this isn’t real love, not in a brothel; her ulterior motive is to ensure a steady income by developing a long-term relationship that pays her.

 

As for Natasha, since she lacks a steady client list, Patti forces her to go on the prowl throughout the Upper East Side neighborhood looking for customers.  While out, she stumbles upon the perfect mark at Starbucks, an unemployed waiter who’s busy working on his resume.  Since Natasha will do anything for an extra buck, she ends up stealing the man’s ATM card while he’s in the bathroom back at the apartment and immediately goes on a shopping spree at Bloomingdale’s after he leaves.

 

Later that day, after a chance encounter, Patti ends up creating an alliance with a slick, middle-aged Italian-American named Ralphie who runs an illegal poker parlor in an apartment also on the Upper East Side.  The deal – Patti will provide girls to the men at the poker games while giving Ralphie a piece of the action.  Although Ralphie immediately starts hitting on her and tries his best to consummate their relationship, Patti fends him off by stating that their partnership is strictly business and that’s all.  Only time will tell if that’s really true.  

 

And at the end of yet another long night, Natasha leaves the apartment to go home and realizes she’s being followed by the client that she ripped off earlier in the day.  At first she claims ignorance and refuses to even acknowledge she has ever met him, but he does manage to get her to eventually admit it.  However, Natasha steadfastly denies stealing his ATM card but the man is persistent and refuses to let her go until he pays her back.  What happens next is sure to have long-lasting ramifications for the man, Natasha and Patti’s business. 

Turning Tricks Screenplay

"Rum Runners"

Tagline – “Before Coke, There Was Rum”

“25 words or less” – Life during the turbulent times of 1920’s Miami focusing on the eccentric characters that patronize a popular speakeasy during the lawlessness of the Prohibition era

Full Summary:

It’s 1921 in Miami.  The nascent real estate market is booming bringing with it a large contingent of carpetbaggers looking to make a quick fortune.  Prohibition is law in the United States, but in an open city like Miami, where most laws are not followed by the general populace or enforced by local law officials, it’s just a mere suggestion.

With a booming economy, general sense of lawlessness and year-round beautiful weather set alongside tropical beaches, Miami becomes a haven for eccentric characters from all walks of life - speculators, socialites, writers, businessmen, doctors, and especially criminals – to live, work and play.   

This Casablanca-style TV series centers on life within the most popular speakeasy, located at the mouth of the Miami River, which brings all these people together to congregate nightly.  Although offering highly illegal activities such as unlimited booze and gambling, the club runs with relative impunity from local law enforcement, many of whom count themselves as loyal customers.  The speakeasy is so brazen that a big sign sits atop the establishment to inform passersby of its name – “Rum Runners” – since the owner isn’t concerned about bringing any unwanted attention to himself, this is Miami after all.

The ringleader and owner of Rum Runners is James “Jimmy” Conrad.  A laid back but well put together native Miamian with a straightforward wit, Jimmy is a friend of everyone in the city and is as comfortable in beachwear and afternoon attire as he is in a crisp suit or tuxedo. 

He’s supported by a group of trusted employees including:
Jeeves - the reserved African-American who mans the front door of the club.
Joe - the burly and surly bartender who’s quick with a drink and is everyone’s friend.
Albert - the leader of the jazz orchestra.
Edward and Ralph - two shady Run Runners’ employees who take care of James’ dirty work and any problems that come up with his preferred club patrons. 

Rum Runners’ maintains its’ popularity through the eccentric characters that patronize the establishment on a nearly nightly basis:    
George McCarthy - a gentlemanly sea captain and well-known rum runner who supplies liquor to the club by smuggling booze from the Bahamas.  However, he’s personally never drank an ounce of liquor in his life. 
William Carr - the wiry, rough-looking, macho, famous American writer who has hit hard times recently and become a full-blown drunkard willing to challenge anyone around him to an impromptu arm wrestling match.
Charles Franklin - a short, middle-aged real estate spectator who moved down to Miami from the north in search of fortune in the still relatively untapped market.
Mayor Beck - the jovial, portly, completely corrupt but fun-loving Mayor of Miami.
Chief Gerald Novak - the large, strong, physically imposing chief of police with an intimidating personality.  As the new chief, Novak tries his best to go by the book in a city that doesn’t follow any rules but finds that temptations to stray seemingly lie around every corner.
Mickey Marino, Michael Ricci and Elijah Bernstein - three well-known northern gangsters who set up shop down in Miami during the pre-Capone days before crime becomes more organized.
Esther Harris - the stately older socialite man-eater who moved to Miami from Cleveland after her wealthy railroad magnate husband passed away and left her his fortune.
Dorothy - a fiery, foul-mouthed prostitute who spends her nights at the club’s bar looking to bed its’ rich and famous patrons.
J.R. Randolph - a well-dressed banking tycoon who visits Miami with much younger females from his secretarial pool while he sends his wife on shopping trips to Europe.
John Pelham - a degenerate professional gambler who spends most of his time every night playing, and losing, in the club’s casino room.
Dr. Ernest Stratford - a top surgeon within the county, and his wife, Sally, are a well-respected couple and regular patrons of the club.  Along with their other friends, they give the club a sense of refined legitimacy among the plethora of shady characters and outright criminals.
Phillip - a young and impressionable roughneck dock worker who is comfortable mingling among high society within the club.
Robert Graves - a well-to-do philanderer who goes through women like he goes through glasses of champagne.

The club is not without its’ antagonists though.  In the first episode, Detective Johnson & Detective Smith badger James with questions over the murder of a regular club patron.  Detective Smith especially doesn’t like Jimmy’s non-answer answers.  These two men promise to be thorns in his side while James tries to run his illegal club without interference from the city or law enforcement.

With the pilot episode taking place in 1921, setting the general landscape and introducing the main characters, the series will showcase the urban birth of Miami and the origins of its’ culture of lawlessness, which still permeates the city today, and will follow the actions and evolution of these eccentric characters from the start of the real estate boom and Prohibition, to the development of organized crime in the city when Al Capone arrives, through the real estate bust, the Great Depression and finally the repeal of Prohibition.
Rum Runners Screenplay