Rapunzel (SAMPLE) by Timothy Shireman | Script Revolution

Rapunzel (SAMPLE)

You know the story, but this is no fairy tale. A young woman is kidnapped by a delusional admirer. To escape, Barbara must piece together fragments of her captor's shattered mind.

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3pp

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Part crime drama, part psychological thriller, Rapunzel is no Fairy Tale.
It's a modern take on the classic tale of a long-haired damsel in distress, but our damsel is no Sleeping Beauty. She's a headstrong twenty year-old dancer with long golden locks from Kansas, just arrived to the hustle of the sweltering Atlanta streets. Bright, ambitious, and athletic, Barbara was raised an Army brat.
In addition to taking her to gymnastics practice, Barb's single dad taught her another very particular set of skills. Skills he acquired over a very long career, skills that make her a nightmare for people like J.D. Carpenter, an unbalanced veteran with little left to lose.
Recent events have dealt his unfortunate family a series of cruel blows, so he retreats to a delusional world where he can be a hero to his dying wife. Off his meds and having seen firsthand the negative effects of torture in Iraq, he shows flashes of genuine compassion to his victim between bouts of self-loathing and nihilism. He doesn't want sex or a ransom, and the true motives behind his twisted crimes are both tragic and disturbingly relevant.
But nobody puts Babsie in a corner. With her physical gifts mostly negated, she will have to escape by using her wits to solve the deadly puzzle inside the warped mind of a mentally ill man who has embraced his own death.

Submitted: August 5, 2021
Last Updated: November 21, 2022

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Timothy Shireman's picture

The Writer: Timothy Shireman

There are some who call me Tim. A pre-WGA scribe who hails from a far-off, desolate wasteland known as New Jersey. After two decades in Atlanta, my Philly roots are now sunk deep in the Georgia clay. Having spent the last 15 years as a graphic designer and production artist, I decided to try something completely different & took up screenwriting. Making the creative jump has been a challenging yet rewarding transition. With a renewed sense of artistic freedom, I've dedicated myself to learning the craft of storytelling. A true genre fanatic, I was raised by the Horror section of Blockbuster. My cinematic pedigree & irreverent sense of humor give my work a unique sensibility. I hope... Go to bio

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