Shootin' The Shorts
Shootin' The Shorts is run by J.E. Clarke a longtime prolific screenwriter who loves to give others a little boost in the marketplace by highlighting why she believes their short script may stand out. She brings with her a loyal band of readers who share the same compassionate attitude who have joined her cause as it's grown and grown to connect writers with filmmakers on a monthly basis. Now it finds a home here on Script Revolution.
This is all about highlighting what makes a script great by focusing on the positives. You'll find no negative criticism or lists of issues here. Submitting a short script for consideration couldn't be easier, simply scroll down to the bottom of your script edit page and tick the "Submit to Shootin' The Shorts" checkbox. Please note; it takes time to get through all submissions, everything is subjective, and we're by no means saying these are the best short scripts on Script Revolution, they are simply the ones that have found an admirer within this section - CJ
Double Booked - and Ready to Fire!
Double-Booked
Due to a scheduling error, two agency hit-men are double-booked to take out the same target.
Everyone knows the usual cinematic tropes of the Hollywood hitman with their charm, sophistication, ruthless edge and perfect timing. Well, author Charles Scowsill is here with his highly amusing comedy, Double Booked, to dispose of those conventions.
We open on a young man in a sharp suit, Winston, who carefully enters a house and prepares for what is to come. He takes a seat, relaxes, pulls out his gun and gets ready to conduct his messy business, but just as he is set to go he is interrupted by a rather bumbling and familiar nuisance, his aging colleague Thaddeus.
There is the soft sound of clutter. Winston raises his pistol calmly into the light. Suddenly - to the left of Winston, a window slides open. A clumsy figure staggers through.
Winston hurriedly leans over to a nearby “pixar” lamp and switches it on. The figure is revealed to be Thaddeus Eulovitch (57).
WINSTON
What the fuck are you doing here!?
THADDEUS
What the fuck are YOU doing here!?
WINSTON
Only gonna tell you once Thaddeus. FUCK OFF.
THADDEUS
What was that kiddo?
WINSTON
GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!
THADDEUS
Ah, so I did hear you right.
Haven't got my hearing aid in you see.
WINSTON
Back off Thaddeus this is my contract, you're past your time.
THADDEUS
I’ll give you five pounds to get and get some sweets from that off
license down the road.
WINSTON
Who the fuck do you think you are you withering asshole!?
Winston kicks over a nearby coffee table. The nonchalant Thaddeus takes a seat and lights a cigarette.
THADDEUS
Keep your diaper on. I guess the boffins at HQ screwed up our schedules.
WINSTON
FUCK!
As the two bicker, the plot thickens as the wife of their target, Georgia, stumbles across them, and proves to have deeper depths than either man was expecting.
Will Winston and Thaddeus figure out what to do, will the likely spanner in the works that is Georgia prove too much to handle, and will they finally manage to complete their job and remove the target? Download the script and give it a read to find out.
Aside from the comedic wit on show in the writing, Double Booked is only six pages long and largely set in one single internal location, making it a cheap and simple production. If you are a film maker looking for a comedy to get your name out there then look no further, download Charles Scowill’s work and let the hits fall where they may!
The Script
About The Reviewer
Surreal comedies are my release, but everyone else seems to like my dramas so I've put them up here for the sensible readers...
Recently graduated from the London Film School and I'm now attempting to get some of these wonderful pieces of work out there into the real world. If...Read more
About The Writer
I do my best to admire and study great writers, but not forget to be unique as one myself.
At present, I've got so much to learn and therefore not so much to share. So for the time being, I hope you enjoy my scripts, as I will enjoy yours.
The Beginning... Is Never the End
The Beginning
A husband mourning his wife at the cemetery gets consoled by the last person he expected.
It's the universal question about life after death: "Is there something more?"
In David González's two-page sentimental short, The Beginning, grieving widower James stands on a green slope in the cemetery, facing his wife's grave. A picture of his beloved Margaret leans against a vase of burgundy roses.
A Young Woman in Black -- with raven's wing hair and wearing big sunglasses -- appears at a neighboring grave, and she's sobbing. She places an item on the grave and lights a couple candles.
As James watches her, his mind drifts back in time to a conversation with Margaret:
MARGARET
You know, there has to be more.
Her mind is somewhere else.
MARGARET
All the pain, all the tears, all the
sacrifices, have to lead somewhere.
James listens, in silence.
MARGARET
What if there’s something... after?
With this last word, Margaret snaps out of it.
MARGARET
I know. It sounds silly...
James squeezes her hand.
JAMES
No, it doesn’t.
When the Young Woman in Black walks away, James suddenly notices the surprising item that she's left behind...
What's the connection between James and the Young Woman in Black? Can she help ease James's pain of losing Margaret?
The Beginning is a tender story about life after death with someone you love. Is it fanciful? Give The Beginning a read, and decide for yourself if there is something more.
The Script
About The Reviewer
Über reader. I enjoy writing animated scripts, historical-fiction and westerns, when I'm not reading or researching new story ideas. So many ideas, so little time...
Script Revolution is a great place to interact with old friends and make new friends. It's all about networking! ;D ...Read more
About The Writer
I'm an aspiring screenwriter with a long love for storytelling and movies.
I enjoy writing in different genres – horror, thriller and sci-fi/fantasy are my favourites – but I also like mixing and blending genres and spinning old stories in new ways.
Please feel free to contact me...Read more
Plight - Adrift, But Never Hopeless
Plight
A young refugee fights to survive a storm in the Mediterranean sea,
but his real struggle rests on shore with his saviour.
A treacherous nighttime storm rages in the Strait of Sicily.
"Towering waves cut through a dark sea... and a violent wind swirls in the air. A bolt of lightning streaks through the air and for a brief instance reveals moving walls of water..."
In Cam Gray's emotional screenplay, Plight, the scenario is dire. For scattered in the water "lie the pummeled remains of a wooden boat" -- and a panicked 7-year-old Libyan boy named Tareq.
Clinging to his teddy bear and struggling to keep his head above the waves, Tareq screams for help. There's no answer. But when lightning strikes again and illuminates the area, Tareq spots a tattered blue cooler floating in the water.
By daylight Tareq is adrift on the cooler in a calmer sea, and now able to ride over the waves. He's more determined and shares his optimism with his teddy bear, Abu.
TAREQ
(In Libyan Arabic, subtitled)
Momma and Pappa haven’t come to
find us yet, but they will. They
had Aya with them, I saw them
together when the boat broke apart.
They will keep her safe.
Night falls again, and Tareq is soon shivering from the cold. But in the distance, he catches a glimpse of yellow light. And with it -- the sound of a ship's motor.
His rescuer, 60-year-old Italian fisherman Salvatore Cannizzaro, wraps the boy in a towel and hands Tareq a cup with hot coffee.
SALVATORE
(In Italian, subtitled)
It’s been an hour and you still
haven’t said a word, not even a
thank you! Why won’t you talk? What
is your name? What are you doing
out here with a teddy and a cooler box?
Tareq warms his hands over the steaming coffee. Frustrated by the boy's silence, Salvatore persists:
SALVATORE
Where’s the gratitude? I know
you’re scared but you could at
least tell me what the hell you
were doing out there.
(beat)
Fine, keep quiet. I have to fish,
then I’ll take you to land come sunrise.
When Salvatore throws his hands up and turns to leave, Tareq finally speaks --
TAREQ
(In Libyan Arabic, subtitled)
Tareq. My name is Tareq al-Libi.
Salvatore immediately recognizes Tareq's language and realizes, much to his dismay, the boy has come from Libya. And most likely, Tareq's family is "resting at the bottom of the sea."
Will Salvatore help the young refugee?
Plight is a riveting and timely story, resonating with hope and angst for both Tareq and Salvatore.
If you're a director who can confidently navigate through waves of controversy, Plight is for you! The story's ending is guaranteed to initiate heated conversations in its aftermath.
The Script
About The Reviewer
Über reader. I enjoy writing animated scripts, historical-fiction and westerns, when I'm not reading or researching new story ideas. So many ideas, so little time...
Script Revolution is a great place to interact with old friends and make new friends. It's all about networking! ;D ...Read more
About The Writer
Surreal comedies are my release, but everyone else seems to like my dramas so I've put them up here for the sensible readers...
Recently graduated from the London Film School and I'm now attempting to get some of these wonderful pieces of work out there into the real world. If...Read more
New Sins - Sung to A Different Melody
NEW SINS
In a future where creative expression has been outlawed, a zealot finds his faith tested
when he’s forced to accept that music might be the only way to reach his comatose daughter.
New Eden, a not so distant future where a nameless order of ideologues have stripped society of artistic expression. Books are burnt; music destroyed; artists cast as heretics and subjected to surveillance and control.
Into this world comes 14-year-old Gail, a rebellious spirit and beloved daughter of Renner, a leading figure of the New Eden regime.
When Gail is left comatose following a bid to end her life, a distraught Renner realises his only hope in bringing her back rests with resurrecting the very art he sought to destroy.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
Renner kneels in front of the bed, tears cover his eyes as he holds Gail's hand.
She lies in bed, unconscious.
RENNER
They tell me to sin.
They tell me to make you remember who you were
because it's the only way you'll wake up.
Hearing my voice. Please, could you wake up?
Gail remains unconscious.
Desperate to save her, Renner approaches Cecily, an ageing musician and one of the last to hold long forbidden knowledge. Seeing a way to alleviate her own stifling existence, Cecily begrudgingly accepts Renner’s deal and the pair embark on a journey into necessary sin as she teaches her would be oppressor the lost art of guitar playing. Together the unlikely duo finds new meaning through the power of music, and a grieving father a second chance to make amends.
Oscar Moreno’s short script New Sins is an emotionally driven drama that explores our relationship with self-expression and the power of music to reach across ideological divides.
The Script
About The Reviewer
Started writing scripts around five years ago after realising his social life was vastly overrated. Enjoys writing in a variety of genres but leans toward raw, grittier characters and the worlds they inhabit - from the deadly serious to the darkly comic. Drinks coffee, owns an unhealthy amount...Read more
About The Writer
I'm a bilingual borderland Mexican writer and filmmaker. Recently, I've optioned my script "Whispers" to Fankle Films. My scripts and short films have placed highly and won awards in festivals and contests around the world such as the Sundance Lab and the Austin Film Festival. My prose work has...Read more
Butterscotch - A Family Drama That Feels Like An Action Movie
Butterscotch
A recently widowed father puts his parenting skills to the test
when his 11-year-old daughter gets her first period.
Butterscotch by Jessica Waters opens benignly enough. Fifteen year-old Carson Slone at the kitchen table, ignoring homework in favor of messing around on his phone.
Then his construction worker father Elwood rushes in, out of breath. Elwood asks, “What’s wrong?” Carson points to the ceiling.
Elwood runs upstairs, knocks on the closed bathroom door, and asks his eleven year-old daughter Taisha if she’s OK.
TAISHA (O.S.)
There’s blood. On my underwear.
ELWOOD
Oh, baby. It’s okay. I’ll…
Elwood doesn’t know how to deal with this kind of situation. In life, he’s always been gruff and to the point. A born disciplinarian. His wife was the sensitive one. But she’s dead now. So Elwood springs into action, frantically rummages through his wife’s old things, and even miraculously finds a box of tampons.
But after trying to read the directions, he has to enlist Carson’s help.
ELWOOD
Writing's tiny as hell.
Carson reads the directions and grows nervous.
CARSON
Is this safe?
ELWOOD
Of course, it's safe, it's...
But now Elwood’s not so sure, so in a mad dash, he races off to the local drug store to find something appropriate for Taisha to use for her first time. There, he endures judgment inquiries from another customer.
All the while, back at the apartment, Carson tries to comfort his sister as best as he can.
Elwood and Carson aren’t perfect, but they’re trying. This kind of plot could’ve easily been mined for laughs, but writer Jessica Waters instead chose to focus on the sincerity of the moment, and the result feels like an episode of This Is Us played out at a breakneck pace.
Butterscotch is heartwarming, sweet, and far from saccharine.
The Script
About The Reviewer
B. S. Carter began his writing career in second grade writing one-page (wide rule) sequels to movies like The Terminator, Ghostbusters, and City Heat (it’s a Clint Eastwood-Burt Reynolds buddy picture). B. S. dreamed of being a filmmaker, but either through laziness, ADD, or fear, he never...Read more
About The Writer
I write stories that matter so that the world can begin to understand the necessity for the valuable representation of marginalized communities. I am a queer black woman, and that is essential to how I approach my writing; whether it be through characters, settings, or experiences. All my short...Read more
When Words Fail - Or Do They?
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!
The Script
About The Reviewer
Linda Hullinger is an award-winning screenwriter and published author who has written thirteen short screenplays, three feature screenplays and two TV pilots. She’s had short stories, articles, and essays traditionally published in magazines such as Woman’s World, Over My Dead Body, Dogwood...Read more
About The Writer
Dave has written and optioned a number of shorts and features, as well as a novel, Who Iced The Snowman?, published by Cozy Cat Press in 2016.
His main genre is comedy, but he also leans towards sci-fi and paranoid/conspiratorial thrillers. He performs standup, plays bass, and...Read more
The Cure for Aging - There's a Cure for That... or Is There?
The Cure for Aging
An elderly prisoner gets rid of a troublesome young cellmate,
thanks in part to his promise of a "cure" for aging.
The cure for aging revealed…in prison? That’s what David Pauwels’s short script The Cure for Aging promises, and then delivers.
At a lean eight pages taking place all in one location, Cure grabs the reader immediately and doesn’t let up. It opens on Jeremy - an old-timer in every sense of the word - alone in his bare cell, content to read his worn paperback.
In comes Wally, a young hothead loudmouth with attitude to spare, a spiritual cousin to some of the best and worst characters seen in Darabont-King collaborations like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
Over time, Jeremy tries to calm the impetuous Wally down, tries to give him some focus for life on the inside. But all stir-crazy Wally can think about is the anti-aging procedure Jeremy once heard about on the outside.
By the time it’s all over, The Cure for Aging will leave you feeling the same way a good episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Tales from the Crypt always did.
With a wicked smile on your face.
The Script
About The Reviewer
B. S. Carter began his writing career in second grade writing one-page (wide rule) sequels to movies like The Terminator, Ghostbusters, and City Heat (it’s a Clint Eastwood-Burt Reynolds buddy picture). B. S. dreamed of being a filmmaker, but either through laziness, ADD, or fear, he never...Read more
About The Writer
Dave has written and optioned a number of shorts and features, as well as a novel, Who Iced The Snowman?, published by Cozy Cat Press in 2016.
His main genre is comedy, but he also leans towards sci-fi and paranoid/conspiratorial thrillers. He performs standup, plays bass, and...Read more
Singled Out - Dating After Divorce... does it ever work?
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 Script
About The Reviewer
Linda Hullinger is an award-winning screenwriter and published author who has written thirteen short screenplays, three feature screenplays and two TV pilots. She’s had short stories, articles, and essays traditionally published in magazines such as Woman’s World, Over My Dead Body, Dogwood...Read more
About The Writer
Rick Hansberry is an award-winning screenwriter with more than 20 years of industry experience. With several produced credits on his IMDb page, Rick has written, produced and directed several short films. 2017 saw the release of two feature-length films, "Alienate" and "Evil In Her." 2018...Read more
Road Trip - You never know where it'll take you....
Road Trip
Everyone enjoys a good road trip...
For those of you who have ever wondered if there is life beyond Earth, if there are super intelligent beings swarming the planet incognito or if what is out there may only have the IQ of styrofoam, Warren Duncan’s Road Trip will bring a chuckle.
As the script opens, Tom has taken a ride with a stranger and all he wants is to find out what he’s gotten himself into. But, the driver refuses to divulge any clues.
In the passenger seat sits TOM, 30’s, completely average in every way. A large smile stretched across his face.
TOM
I love road trips. So... where we going?
No reply from the driver who sits off-screen.
TOM
You gotta give me something.
Nothing.
TOM
Oh come on! A hint, a tip, a government secret?
Tom fidgets in his seat, clearly agitated. His once friendly demeanor changes.
Will Tom get the answers he’s looking for? Or does the stranger’s lack of communication skills mean... something far more ominous?
Just one page long, Road Trip may require a few special effects. But it takes the Sci-Fi genre to a comedic level in less than a minute - an amazing feat at the speed of light!
The Script
About The Reviewer
Linda Hullinger is an award-winning screenwriter and published author who has written thirteen short screenplays, three feature screenplays and two TV pilots. She’s had short stories, articles, and essays traditionally published in magazines such as Woman’s World, Over My Dead Body, Dogwood...Read more
About The Writer
I am an aspiring screenwriter from Australia. I have had multiple shorts produced and currently have several on option. I typically enjoy writing horror, thriller, and drama scripts. Please feel free to contact me at Warren_Duncan@hotmail.com or...Read more
The Perfect Pair: Love Will Always Find a Way!
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.
The Script
About The Reviewer
L.Chambers has been writing all her life – especially in her head, and on scraps of paper. It’s only in the last few years she began to get serious about screen-writing. Prior to this she worked in the Features Department for ABC TV as a Program Assistant, and trained as a FAD. She currently...Read more
About The Writer
I am an aspiring screenwriter originally from Ireland, currently residing in Upstate New York.
I have had multiple shorts produced, including one award winner and currently have another on option.
I typically enjoy writing comedy scripts.
Thanks for taking a look....Read more
