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I had some health issues and also got slammed with submissions and my own projects last Winter. So much time went by, I figured no one noticed or cared that I didn't do a Lugnut List for 2014. Oddly, those requests starting coming in recently. In June. So here it is, only seven months late...
THE 2014 LUGNUT LIST
TOP 10 FEATURE SCRIPTS:
REMEMBER THE TROJANS by Tommy Musni (Family / Sports / Comedy)
Stuck in rural Idaho, a soccer-obsessed 13 year-old boy convinced he's going to be an international star bets the school board that if he wins a California tournament with a team of fellow rejects, his high school will offer the sport.
THE SPY by Andrew Slattery (Spy Thriller / Action / Biopic)
In 1941, veteran RAF pilot Roald Dahl is sent to Washington DC to use his writing skills and imagination to help sway a committee of U.S. Senators to rally America into joining Britain in its fight against Nazi Germany.
GATED COMMUNITY by Jim Soscie (Thriller)
An FBI agent and his family are placed in Witness Protection and housed in a quiet gated community in the middle of nowhere, but he soon discovers their new neighbors know his identity and the $6m bounty on his head has them motivated to kill him.
SLICE OF LIFE by M.C. Selfridge (Period Drama / Comedy)
When a flamboyant sword-wielding executioner is framed for murder by a vengeful gravedigger and faces his own execution, he’s saved by corrupt politicians who secretly hide him in a notorious asylum. But when no one comes for him as planned, he must find a way to escape and get his own dastardly revenge.
BLUE DEATH by Pamela Kay (Action / Horror / Crime Drama)
When his son becomes hooked on a deadly and terrifying new drug, an ex-Marine turned small town cop tries to save him but ultimately launches a one-man war against the dealer and the chemist responsible for creating “Blue Death.”
FOUR PEOPLE DIE by Ali Imran Zaidi (Thriller)
In the near future where an upscale lounge with a seedy underbelly sells an irresistible new service about to become illegal, four of six deeply entangled lives are about to end.
ASCENT by Nicol Eilers & Michael Eilers (Sci-Fi / Action)
A building engineer and his teenage daughter are aboard the inaugural launch of the Skyhook, an elevator connecting a giant ship in the Indian Ocean with a space station, but four hijackers crash the party and wreak violent havoc.
WAR WOMAN by Steven Fournier (Period Drama / Action)
In the late 18th century, a tough mother-of-two who lives off the land in the backwoods of Georgia picks up arms and takes the fight to the British.
AGAIN, SPRING by Kent M. Williams (Wartime Drama)
During the siege of Leningrad, a young girl who was separated from her parents helps the zookeepers stave off the deadly winter weather and a shortage of food to keep the zoo animals survive.
FINER HOMES AND GANGSTERS by Amanda Good Hennesey, Art Hennesey & Brad Kelly (Comedy)
Several women gather at a house on Cape Cod to throw a surprise birthday party for a friend, but the weekend gets a little complicated when the host meets with a gangster before everyone else shows up and he drops dead.
- - - - -
TOP 3 TV SCRIPTS:
THE ORDER by Matt O'Reilly (Crime Drama / Fantasy)
Set in a modern day world where elves are a human ethnic group, the leader of a clan of elvish criminals who trade on outlawed magic struggles to safeguard his family in a world that alternately needs and fears his kind.
JUDASTOWN by Greta Heinemann (Crime Drama / Thriller)
Shortly before her long-awaited execution, an ex-cop accused of killing seven men she believed members of a dangerous religious cult files an appeal and a new defense lawyer must bring himself up to speed on her case history.
THE MAYOR OF HOLLYWOODLAND by Gayle Jackson (Period Drama)
In 1930s Hollywood, the VP of Paladin Studios must contend with a whole spectrum of problems, from homicidal wives, to egotistical directors and movie stars, to the politics of keeping a multi-million dollar film studio alive during an economic depression.
- - - - -
A word about the Lugnut List. It is merely my favorite material from the 335 submissions I personally received and "covered" this past calendar year. It is definitely not an attempt to compete with any other list. It's just for fun and to potentially give the authors more exposure.
If you're a writer on the list and want anything edited (or spot a mistake) please email me at [email protected]
- - - - -
As always, here's a few honorable mentions. I can't list everyone, so please don't be upset if you didn't make the list. There were many other screenplays I enjoyed reading, clients I'm a fan of, and plenty of cool ideas, some of which simply needed more development.
POINT ARENA by Gerard Roxburgh & Lance Dumais
ROOTS OF EVIL by Carver Gray
ROSES AND RATTLESNAKES by Colin Simpson
THE NEXT DAY by Alex Chu
THE VACCINE by Rachael Blackwood
INCURSION by Bill Lawrence
MILLION DOLLAR BRIDE by Ourdia Hodge
SANTA BABY by Scotty Mullen
THE COMPOUND (TV) by Moises Zamora
TAINTED by Samuel J. Winokur
HYPERTHYMESIA by J.R. Halterlein
- - - - -
Every year, people ask how many "Considers" I award. I use four recommendations in my coverage:
Consider
Consider w/ reservations
Pass w/ reservations
Pass
To answer another FAQ: less than half of the screenplays above earned a "Full Consider."
As always, thank you to all my clients for trusting me to read your work.
__________________
THE 2014 LUGNUT LIST
TOP 10 FEATURE SCRIPTS:
REMEMBER THE TROJANS by Tommy Musni (Family / Sports / Comedy)
Stuck in rural Idaho, a soccer-obsessed 13 year-old boy convinced he's going to be an international star bets the school board that if he wins a California tournament with a team of fellow rejects, his high school will offer the sport.
THE SPY by Andrew Slattery (Spy Thriller / Action / Biopic)
In 1941, veteran RAF pilot Roald Dahl is sent to Washington DC to use his writing skills and imagination to help sway a committee of U.S. Senators to rally America into joining Britain in its fight against Nazi Germany.
GATED COMMUNITY by Jim Soscie (Thriller)
An FBI agent and his family are placed in Witness Protection and housed in a quiet gated community in the middle of nowhere, but he soon discovers their new neighbors know his identity and the $6m bounty on his head has them motivated to kill him.
SLICE OF LIFE by M.C. Selfridge (Period Drama / Comedy)
When a flamboyant sword-wielding executioner is framed for murder by a vengeful gravedigger and faces his own execution, he’s saved by corrupt politicians who secretly hide him in a notorious asylum. But when no one comes for him as planned, he must find a way to escape and get his own dastardly revenge.
BLUE DEATH by Pamela Kay (Action / Horror / Crime Drama)
When his son becomes hooked on a deadly and terrifying new drug, an ex-Marine turned small town cop tries to save him but ultimately launches a one-man war against the dealer and the chemist responsible for creating “Blue Death.”
FOUR PEOPLE DIE by Ali Imran Zaidi (Thriller)
In the near future where an upscale lounge with a seedy underbelly sells an irresistible new service about to become illegal, four of six deeply entangled lives are about to end.
ASCENT by Nicol Eilers & Michael Eilers (Sci-Fi / Action)
A building engineer and his teenage daughter are aboard the inaugural launch of the Skyhook, an elevator connecting a giant ship in the Indian Ocean with a space station, but four hijackers crash the party and wreak violent havoc.
WAR WOMAN by Steven Fournier (Period Drama / Action)
In the late 18th century, a tough mother-of-two who lives off the land in the backwoods of Georgia picks up arms and takes the fight to the British.
AGAIN, SPRING by Kent M. Williams (Wartime Drama)
During the siege of Leningrad, a young girl who was separated from her parents helps the zookeepers stave off the deadly winter weather and a shortage of food to keep the zoo animals survive.
FINER HOMES AND GANGSTERS by Amanda Good Hennesey, Art Hennesey & Brad Kelly (Comedy)
Several women gather at a house on Cape Cod to throw a surprise birthday party for a friend, but the weekend gets a little complicated when the host meets with a gangster before everyone else shows up and he drops dead.
- - - - -
TOP 3 TV SCRIPTS:
THE ORDER by Matt O'Reilly (Crime Drama / Fantasy)
Set in a modern day world where elves are a human ethnic group, the leader of a clan of elvish criminals who trade on outlawed magic struggles to safeguard his family in a world that alternately needs and fears his kind.
JUDASTOWN by Greta Heinemann (Crime Drama / Thriller)
Shortly before her long-awaited execution, an ex-cop accused of killing seven men she believed members of a dangerous religious cult files an appeal and a new defense lawyer must bring himself up to speed on her case history.
THE MAYOR OF HOLLYWOODLAND by Gayle Jackson (Period Drama)
In 1930s Hollywood, the VP of Paladin Studios must contend with a whole spectrum of problems, from homicidal wives, to egotistical directors and movie stars, to the politics of keeping a multi-million dollar film studio alive during an economic depression.
- - - - -
A word about the Lugnut List. It is merely my favorite material from the 335 submissions I personally received and "covered" this past calendar year. It is definitely not an attempt to compete with any other list. It's just for fun and to potentially give the authors more exposure.
If you're a writer on the list and want anything edited (or spot a mistake) please email me at [email protected]
- - - - -
As always, here's a few honorable mentions. I can't list everyone, so please don't be upset if you didn't make the list. There were many other screenplays I enjoyed reading, clients I'm a fan of, and plenty of cool ideas, some of which simply needed more development.
POINT ARENA by Gerard Roxburgh & Lance Dumais
ROOTS OF EVIL by Carver Gray
ROSES AND RATTLESNAKES by Colin Simpson
THE NEXT DAY by Alex Chu
THE VACCINE by Rachael Blackwood
INCURSION by Bill Lawrence
MILLION DOLLAR BRIDE by Ourdia Hodge
SANTA BABY by Scotty Mullen
THE COMPOUND (TV) by Moises Zamora
TAINTED by Samuel J. Winokur
HYPERTHYMESIA by J.R. Halterlein
- - - - -
Every year, people ask how many "Considers" I award. I use four recommendations in my coverage:
Consider
Consider w/ reservations
Pass w/ reservations
Pass
To answer another FAQ: less than half of the screenplays above earned a "Full Consider."
As always, thank you to all my clients for trusting me to read your work.
__________________
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