Poultice
A prairie woman will do anything to keep her unborn child alive.

There is a period of time in American History - at least according to Hollywood - simply known as "The Old West." 

Here you will find stagecoach robberies,  gold in them thar hills,  gunfights at high noon, and lest we forget,  cowboys and Indians.  We all have our favorite Westerns such as "True Grit," "Gunfight at the OK Corral," or more recently, "Unforgiven," and "Pale Rider."  

It's a genre unique to The United States because it's a reflection of our nation's history.

"Poultice,"  written by Anthony Cawood, is that rare quiet Western.   An emotional drama that packs the same punch as a bar room brawl at the local saloon. 

Annie Knox is a prairie woman who desperately wants to have a baby.  She is a woman in her thirties, and after five still-born births, time and odds are running out.  Annie will do anything to keep her unborn child alive.

Annie risks everything for her baby when she ventures into Native American territory in search of a mythical poultice.

Upon arrival to the Indian village,  Annie finds herself face to face with Pauwau, an Indian woman who holds the secret of the poultice. 

But, there is bad blood between them.  Years before, Annie's father killed Pauwau's husband and stole their land.  Annie is eager to trade the land for the poultice, but Pauwau stands firm.  Such an insulting offer will do nothing to return her husband to her and her children.   Or, could it?

"Poultice" is a small drama packed with emotion.   Anthony Cawood's story and dialogue ring true, and feel just as much a part of our American history as Wyatt Earp. 

Directors who are searching for a Western without the big budget should definitely belly up to the bar .

Budget and Requirements:  Small.  Location is key for that "old West" look.   Costumes are equally important. And, of course, two serious dramatic actresses.

IMAGINATION, SMAGINATION 
Little boys have crazy imaginations… Or do they?

 The topic for today is Monsters. Mwa-ha-ha -haaaa!

In his inaugural address, F.D. Roosevelt famously paraphrased Francis Bacon’s line by saying: The only thing we have to fear… is fear itself.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found cold comfort in that line… Fear itself is pretty darned scary.

Monsters, ghouls, devils, demons, the boogeyman – all strike fear into the most hardened of hearts and can turn even the most cast-iron of stomachs to jelly. From Ghoulies to Gremlins, to Chucky (Child's Play) and The Babadoo - monsters not only have a long and illustrious history on film but they continue to fascinate, disgust, horrify, and if the writer is especially talented (like this one is) even make their audiences laugh.

Now cast your mind back to your five-year-old self lying in bed in the dark - your nightlight casting ominous shadows onto the walls, your super-hero bed-covers pulled up tightly around your chin, wide eyes darting back and forth into the foreboding darkness.

What was that?!

Did you hear that barely perceptible creak across the floorboard? Did you see that lightning-fast flash of movement just out of the corner of your eye? What about that inky black cavern that is your wardrobe with its door slightly ajar, or that cavernous space under your bed where all manner of dastardly things could be lying in wait, ready to pounce when you least expect it.

Ooh, it’s enough to give you the heebie-jeebies, make you crawl into the fetal position, yank those bed covers over your head while you mutter over and over and over again:not real, not real, not real, in a desperate attempt to prove to yourself that what you just heard, what you just saw, was all just the result of a bad dream or an overactive imagination.

But what if it wasn’t your imagination…?

As we open on Nolan Bryand’s, Imagination, Smagination, this is the very real dilemma facing five-year-old Owen. He’s just run the five-metre dash down the hallway and into his parent’s bedroom. What he knows is: this is not his imagination in overdrive. There’s a Monster in his closet, and he needs his dad to get rid of it! Actually, he’d prefer to sleep in his Mom and Dad’s room, where there is no monster, but they’re not having it. Big sigh. Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.

The Monster in The Closet and The Monster Under The Bed are familiar tropes in horror fiction and filmmaking, but Nolan Bryand’s rendition is about to surprise, not only with its freshness and originality, but also with its perfectly timed comic-horror twists. That's right, not one, but two. Just when you think the story’s done and dusted, Nolan expertly hits his audience with yet another comical twist in the final seconds of a denouement that will have you jumping in surprise and laughing out loud at the same time.

Suspense, comedy, acerbic wit, mixed with clever barbs aimed squarely at jaded grown-ups with their all too familiar rationalizing that ‘monsters don’t exist', Imagination, Smagination is a finely orchestrated monster-lite tale that is sure to be a crowd pleaser for kids and adults alike.

Filmmakers: Now's the time to banish your fears, scare up your own special brand of cinematic 'smagination' and take your best shot in the dark. Best not sleep on it though, cause this one's gonna’ get snapped up fast.

LOW BUDGET

One location.

Two adults, a plucky talented five year old, and a couple of ‘monsters'.

A talent for gruesome make-up fx. will also come in handy.

All the Fives
A burned-out cabbie seeking fortune may have just hit the jackpot.

Working for tips.  Same dead-end job for years.  Growing debt. Minor addictions to help cope with the stress of trying to make ends meet.  Who hasn’t fantasized about winning the lottery?

Mitch, the protagonist of Steve Miles’ All the Fives, sure has. A taxi driver for years, he’s into sport betting.  Consequently, he pays more attention to the games than he does to the road, having given up on the idea of ever getting a handle on his finances through an honest day’s work. 

The film opens with Mitch in his cab, listening to a game.  He has a lot riding on the Black and Gold and has no desire to pick up a fare at the moment.  So, he’s understandably irritated when a man approaches the cab and gets in.  But, money’s money, so Mitch makes sure he makes the most of it: he takes advantage of his passenger’s altered state by driving endlessly as the meter runs wild. 

The taxi driver soon realizes however, that his passenger isn’t just out of it, he’s wounded, seriously wounded.  Not one to pass up an opportunity, the cabbie makes a wager that could change his life forever.  He quickly rummages through the stranger’s bag.  Score!  Wads of cash!

Reveling in his sudden good fortune, Mitch now just has to figure out what to do with the body.  Or so he believes. The man in the backseat stirs, and the stakes of this game just got raised way beyond what Mitch—or the audience--could ever have imagined.

If you love tales with twists that tease and torment—like Twilight Zone meets Reservoir Dogs— you really should come along for the ride that All the Fives has to offer. 

Tower of Strength
Good Guys vs. Bad Guys isn’t always well-defined…

Nothing’s more intense than a good cop story.

Crime tales have built-in tension. There are always good guys – usually the police. And the Bad Guys run the gamut of Evil: one hundred and fifty Shades of “grey”. For anyone who loves such gritty tales, you can usually expect one pivotal scene: usually with three ingredients – a cop, an interrogation room, and a suspect.

And the conflict goes wild from there.

The good cop in Jeremy Storey’s Tower of Strength is a detective named Peter. When TOS opens, Peter has suspect Alex in custody – imprisoned in a cramped interrogation room. As Peter turns his tape recorder on, the lightning quick questions begin.

PETER
Please state your name for the record.

ALEX
Alex Barnes.

PETER
Where do you live?

ALEX
456 Dorchester.

PETER
Where do you work?

ALEX
Crescent Security.

Sound familiar? Well, just you wait.

Because, just about the time you think Peter may elicit that confession of guilt: “Peter’s voice starts to fade. Alex looks over his shoulder to the outside. He’s no longer listening… just looking at the sky” …

The next scene describes Alex “tightening a few bolts” on his son Ben’s new bicycle. And hence the tragic flashback begins…

What’s the “gotcha” of this story?

Well, Peter’s got a grisly murder to solve. He thinks – in fact, he’s damn certain — that this “ruggedly handsome, athletic” father is somehow involved in the bloody mix.

So who exactly has been killed?

No spoiler here: but there are bad cartel guys across the border. A gang of murderous thugs and monsters that take-no-prisoners-alive.

PETER
These ‘monsters’ are like locusts. For every one put away or put down another three will appear. For every eye they take two. They fear no one.

ALEX
You’re worried about retaliation?

PETER
It’ll be a bloodbath.

Absolutely. Alex is a guy with a different agenda – one he keeps very close to his chest. Will Peter be able to solve the murderous crime? Does he even have the right suspect?

Maybe, maybe not… And for folks who love crime stories, that mystery’s the juicy part. 

Are you a director on the hunt for a riveting drama – one with adrenaline-pumping tension and pace? Then TOS could be your fix. It doesn’t get much better than this…