When Words Fail
Two grown men argue over a crossword puzzle, using nothing but 11-letter words.

In everyday conversation, it’s not a shame to be less than articulate. That’s even when no restrictions exist other than civility – aside from avoiding “f-bombs”, the sky’s the limit as to what you can say.

But what if there were not only word, but letter limitations?  Met with such a challenge, how would even the most eloquent of us fare?

Written by Richard McMahon and David Pauwels, When Words Fail explores that very scenario: a battle of wits between adversaries Frank and Ben - men with extraordinary vocabularies, locked over an unfinished crossword puzzle in a war of literal words.

Only the eleven letter kind. Each word fused with poignant subtext, tempers quickly (and succinctly) flare:

FADE IN: INT. CAFE - NIGHT 

FRANK (50s), unshaven, dressed in a tweed blazer, sits at a table. He studies a 60% complete newspaper crossword, pencil in hand.

An eleven-letter space the focus of his attention. He scribbles down the start of a word, then erases it in frustration. Begins another word, stops, erases it again. He sighs. Takes a sip of his coffee, sets the cup down and stares at the crossword. 

FRANK (V.O.) 
Concentrate. 

BENJAMIN (30s), dressed in a suit, slicked back hair, approaches Frank. Notices the crossword. 

BENJAMIN (V.O.)
Inquisitive... 

Frank senses Benjamin's presence and looks up. He looks around the cafe: plenty of empty tables. Why is this guy bugging him? 

He turns back to the crossword. 

FRANK (V.O.) 
Interfering. 

BENJAMIN 
Complicated? 

Surprised, Frank looks him in the eye. He shows Ben the crossword briefly. 

FRANK 
Competently. 

BENJAMIN 
(points at himself)
Participate? 

FRANK 
(waves him away)
Superfluous. 

Benjamin takes out a pen. Gestures between them hopefully. 

BENJAMIN 
Cooperative. 

FRANK 
Aggravating. 

As push comes to shove – verbally – who will win?

Frank - the well spoken gentleman who genteelly resists being disturbed?

Or Ben – a silver-tongued young whippersnapper who may just have the linguistic insight Ben won't admit he needs?

If you’re looking for a two-character, one-location witty screenplay, check out When Words Fail. 

Complete this puzzle with just the proper balance of humor and conflict… and at the next festival, you’ll be the director with the Final Say!

SINGLED OUT
Twenty-somethings are pranked when a married couple sets up their single friends.

Getting back into the dating game doesn’t always come easy after divorce. But having friends with good intentions helps. Sometimes….

But sometimes not.

Rick Hansberry’s “Singled Out” gives us a comical view on what goes through the mind of a nostalgic divorced guy when he’s urged by his married BFF to visit a single’s bar for “his own good”.

INT. RYAN’S HOUSE / BEDROOM - NIGHT

A different 80’s classic rock tune PLAYS. Ryan walks in front of the mirror, inspects a different look, mimes his internal dislike by the following reactions:

SERIES OF QUICK CUTS:

Jacket and tie - What am I thinking?

Business casual - Too geeky.

Tossled hair and open shirt - Who are you kidding?

Hollister - Doesn’t cut it with a mid-thirties waist line.

Sweater vest - Tags still on. Who gave this to me?

GQ - Straight out of a magazine ad.

After years of married “bliss” (or otherwise), can Ryan even pick out come-hither clothes….?

Let’s find out. Fast forward to a jumping nightclub scene:

INT. DIG’S NIGHTCLUB - MOMENTS LATER

Ryan strides toward the bar, gains confidence with each step. He claims his stool. The BARTENDER approaches.

BARTENDER
Are you kidding me with this GQ wannabe look? This ain’t Halloween.

The girls poor Ryan encounters next seem all-too-eager to shoot him down. Worse than the Bartender’s fashion critique, their words cut like a don’t-go-there knife:

- Make room. Desperate Man walking.

- My eyes are up here, Marco Polo.

- Looks like somebody forgot to DVR Jeopardy again.

Dating’s never easy, even in one’s prime. But have Ryan’s moves become this lame? Will he ever find his groove? What limbo level of relationship hell has his friends lure him into… and can they fish him out?

If you’re looking for a fun and lively short with a… happy ending, approach “Singled Out” with confidence. You just might find your perfect match and mate!

THE PERFECT PAIR
An improbable pair meet their match.

As the old saying goes: We can’t choose our family… But we can definitely choose who we fall in love with. Or can we? Perhaps it boils down to simple relationship chemistry, that special connection and instant spark, but attraction is definitely in the eye of the beholder and can mean many different things to different people.

What happens if the object of your affection is not of the warm-blooded variety? In Spike Jonz’ movie, Her, Theodore falls in love with Samantha, a computer operating system. In Lars And The Real Girl, the impossibly shy Lars teams up with a lifelike plastic doll named Bianca. In Blade Runner, Rick Deckard has a dalliance with a beautiful droid named Rachael, and in TED, a bromance develops between John and his foulmouthed childhood teddy bear come to life.

In similar fashion Mark Moore’s The Perfect Pair examines the relationship between Kevin, a big lug of a guy in his twenties and his very unconventional relationship with girlfriend, Nicole.  Kevin is what we’d call a late bloomer and in true Millennial form he is yet to leave the nest.

The dilemma facing long-suffering parents, Frank and Peggy, is not simply what do you do when your adult kid won’t cut the apron strings, but what do you do when the object of your son’s affection is a sock-puppet named Nicole? They’ve been open-minded and patient up until now, allowing Nicole to share their home, their dinner table, even allowing Nicole to share Kevin’s bed, but they’re at their tipping point – Frank’s taken to hyperventilating over the whole affair and something drastic has to be done.

Frank and Peggy take the ‘tough love’ route issuing Kevin with an ultimatum: Either he finds ‘an actual woman of the human kind’ or he’s out.

So, what’s a guy like Kev to do? Go to an Internet dating site of course, rustle up a good sort with shared interests (in this case sock-puppets) and hope and pray for compatibility.

But, what of fiery red-head, Nicole? She’s not going to go easy. And she’s definitely not the sharing type.

Talk about a bizarre love triangle.

Filmmakers: Do you like the comedy in your RomCom veering into absurd, screwball, and laugh-out-loud whilst maintaining sweet and sentimental on the romantic side?

Reminiscent of Lars And The Real Girl and Something About Mary and with an hilarious montage that’ll have your audience laughing out loud, The Perfect Pair could be your perfect debut.

FOR NOW
A year after losing her husband, a widow struggles with whether to date again.

February, (along with all things Saint Valentine) may technically be coming to a close, but for all of you hopeless and hopeful romantic filmmakers out there we’re continuing along the RomCom theme with another pearl of a script just waiting to be picked up.

The Bridges Of Madison County, Harold & Maude, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Hope Springs, (to name a few) are films with what in common? All are proof that just as Frankie (Sinatra) sang way back in 1965: Love Isn’t Just For The Young. Proof also that there’s a demographic you may not have thought of tapping into but that it’s one highly in demand.

And so, the spotlight for today shines on Paul Knauer’s romantic comedy, For Now.

The opening scene of For Now finds us in a retirement community with Adel, a widowed lady in her seventies sitting alone and nursing a cup of coffee. A very nervous Warren, also in his seventies, slides into the seat across from her…

It’s February 14^th, and Warren has just summoned up the courage to ask Adel out on a date. Only trouble is Adel’s a hard sell. She feels blessed enough to have known her soul mate in life and she’s not looking for a replacement. No-one could possibly fill the shoes of her beloved Jimmy.

WARREN
… Listen… I was wondering
if – maybe – you might want to go to
the Olive Garden tonight? With me.
Endless breadsticks.

ADEL
(shakes her head)
It’s Valentine’s Day.

That’s kinda the point, says Warren.

WARREN
… See, when a guy – that’s me
likes a gal – that’s you – sometimes
they eat breadsticks together. And,
sometimes, they do it on Valentine’s Day.

At which point we discover that although Warren has eyes only for Adel he’s hot property amongst the other ladies in the retirement community. In fact a long line of eligible women are queued up outside his door all clamouring for his affections and they come bearing Valentine’s gifts.

As Jimmy says to Adel:

JIMMY
This guy’s more popular
than a chocolate fountain at a
Kansas City brunch.

Huh? Now Jimmy’s talking to Adel? Who is this guy? Has Warren got competition from a dead man? But he dropped off the peg a year ago, right? Then again, maybe he’s alive. A huge bouquet of roses were just delivered to Adel and the name on the card reads: Jimmy.

Hmm, what’s going on? Well, you’re just going to have to delve into the script to find out.

Suffice to say, For Now is a heartwarming and touching romantic comedy sprinkled with whimsical dialogue gems and astute observations about love and loss, and finding love again when you least expect it.

Filmmakers: Want your own feel-good start to the year? Better get on it then, now!

For Now (previous title: Blessing) placed Writer’s Choice runner-up in
the SimplyScripts Romantic Comedy challenge.