“Never be the screenwriter. In Hollywood the screenplay is a fire hydrant with 300 dogs lined up around the block.” Frank Miller (“Sin City”)
I’ve taken three screenwriting classes from Cynthia Whitcomb, who has sold more than 70 feature screenplays and had taught for many years at the UCLA Film School. I've had five feature scripts optioned. Two of my short scripts have been optioned, as well; one of the two was actually filmed (please don't ask to see the one that was filmed: it's horrible).
Earlier in life I was a gag cartoonist, with more than 500 published cartoons in newspapers and magazines. I tried standup comedy to get over shyness and really sucked at it—the standup part, not the shyness. I once owned a Yugo.
I've added the first 15 pages from "Free Spirits," my newest screenplay. Click to read: Script sample.
A Mexican production company is set to produce key scenes from the TV sitcom I co-authored, with the very talented Frank Gaydos, in San Miguel during the summer of 2017. The plan is to produce a trailer made up of key scenes and pitch it to Netflix. Keep your fingers, toes, eyes, and nasal passages crossed.
The TV sitcom, Hotel Manana, I co-authored with Frank Gaydos, was selected as one of the winners in a contest seeking the best TV pilots. By winning, we participated (mostly Frank; gracias, sir) in a weekly workshop, sponsored by Stage 32, with other TV pilot winners, including several writers actively working in the industry.
A few years ago, I started writing screenplays and have finished six full-length features, as well as several short scripts. I am pleased to announce that one of my feature scripts was optioned; the script is titled "Poodle Call," and it’s a family story about what happens when a competitive sports nut coaches a team of poodles in a dog-sled race. Two of my short film scripts have been optioned as well, and one of the two filmed.
One of my screenplays, "Manana," is a Finalist in the Comedy category in the Screenplay Festival competition. www.screenplayfestival.com
MANANA. An uptight American businessman, engaged to the boss’s daughter and ready to prove himself, clashes with locals when he’s sent to manage a new company division in the middle of easy-going Mexico. Anal-retentive meets loosey goosey in this fish out of water comedy about life, liberty and the pursuit of dreams.
ENDOMORPHS, UNITE!
An unemployed husband must pass a urine test to get a job and brings his wife, who is employed, with him to the clinic. But things don't go as planned. 14 pages.
OEDIPUS AND HAMLET WALK INTO A BAR
A conversation between two friends in a bar turns ugly when Ed tells Ham he thinks Ham's mother is "hot" and he wouldn't mind doing her. 15 pages.
THE JOB FAIRY
Burning the midnight oil, hard-working Pete Smith is confronted by the Job Fairy, who has shown up to fire Pete's ass. 6 pages.
SHY
A creepy love store set in a NYC video store on Halloween night about the odd connections that can bring two strangers together. 16 pages. Finished in top 200 out of 1200 entries in the American Gem Screenwriting Contest, 2006
THE ZOMBIE PITCH
Co-owners of a struggling ad agency pull together when pitching an unusual customer for new business and meet with surprising results.
THE BIG SHEEP. When a Sam Spade wannabe time-travels back to 1940's L.A. and teams up with his favorite mystery writer to expose an espionage ring and rescue the femme fatale of his dreams, he soon learns that living his fantasy can be deadly...you can die in the past! THE BIG SHEEP combines the wish-fulfillment hurdles of BIG with the most unlikely detective team since 22 JUMP STREET. Co-author. Awards: Semi-Finalist 2015 ScreenCraft Comedy Screenplay Contest (Top 10%). Winner, Tied for Second (Honorable Mention), Comedy Category, Screenplay Festival, 2015. Previously optioned.
FREE SPIRITS. A young woman uses a "Channel Room" to contact her dead parents, but her efforts wreak havoc on her small town when, instead, neighbors begin to channel the personality quirks of the dead. The dead are the talk of the town in this off-beat comedy about being someone other than yourself. (WGA 1078479).
HOTEL MAÑANA (TV sitcom; Currently Optioned). The life of Eric Malone, an uptight 30-something Silicon Valley software manager, is turned upside down when in the same day he loses his job and his girlfriend and then receives a phone call from Mexico informing him he has inherited a hotel from a mother he never knew he had. Co-author. Trailer for pilot scheduled produced in fall of 2017.
KETCHUM (formerly BAD DADS). Previously optioned.
MAÑANA. An uptight American businessman, out of his element in a small town in Mexico, discovers a new way of life, an amazing hangover cure, and a love he never imagined possible. Anal-retentive meets loosey goosey in this fish out of water comedy about life, liberty and the pursuit of dreams. (WGA 1309983). Finalist, Comedy, Screenplay Festival, 2009. Quarter-finalist, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, 2013.
PINOT GRIS AND CURLY FRIES. High Noon in a Kitchen... A romantic comedy about what happens when Mitch and Sarah, two culinary students, get magically transported back to 1864 in San Francisco and learn first-hand about cooking without food processors and falling in love. The rush is on when Sarah is kidnapped by hungry gold miners desperate for a good meal. Can these cast iron chefs cook their way back home? Barb Doyon, professional script reader, recommends this script...Reviewer’s Comment: "Pinot Gris and Curly Fries" is a laugh-out-loud comedy sure to please the most cynical audience. Mark’s really mastered the comedy genre and given us a fresh and "tasty" spin on the ordinary. Awards: Honorable Mention, Feeding Frenzy Screenplay Competition, 2006; Quarter-finalist, 10th Annual Fade In Awards, 2006; Honorable Mention, Monterey County Film Commission's 11th Annual Screenplay Competition, 2006.
TEAM POODLE. "Cool Runnings" meets "Snow Dogs" when a sports nut determined to beat his rival agrees to coach poodles in a dog sled race . A feel-good comedy for all ages about judging a book by its cover. (WGA 998670). Awards: Top 10 script, 4th Annual Hollywood Nexus Screenwriting Contest (formerly Jury of Peers Screenwriting Contest), 2006; Screenplay Selection, Gloria Film Festival, 2006; Semi-Finalist, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, 2005; Top 10% (Second Rounder), Austin Film Festival, 2005; Finalist, Screenplay Festival, 2005; Quarter-finalist, 10th Annual Fade In Awards, 2006. Previously optioned.
TWO WEEKS IN ROSWELL. The aliens have landed and they’re on vacation! When an alien Dad takes his family on a vacation to planet Earth and the son is kidnapped by tabloid journalists, the family must leave the safety of their tour to rescue the young boy. "Vacation" meets "E.T." in this family comedy about strangers in a strange land. Barb Doyon, an industry script consultant, said about the script: "Wow! What a fun, out-of-this-world (right here on Earth) ride!" Awards: Finalist, Screenplay Category, San Fernando Valley International Film Festival, 2007; Quarterfinalist, Expo 5 Screenplay Competition (top 10% out of 2400 entries), 2006; Winner, Tied for Second (Honorable Mention), Family Category, Screenplay Festival, 2006; Finalist, StoryPros Contest 2013, Family/Teen/Animation Category (top 5%). Previously optioned.
YO, NOSTRADAMUS. A self-absorbed twenty-something slacker finds his life magically transformed after hooking up with a geezer who has special powers. The old man is either the world's best guesser or the second coming of Nostradamus. A wild comedy romp that asks, if you knew what was going to happen tomorrow, would it change the way you live today? (WGA 924136). Awards: Finalist, SoCal Independent Film Festival, 2006; Second Place (Honorable Mention), Screenplay Festival, 2003.
Copyright 2011 Mark Saunders - Writer. All rights reserved.