SCREENPLAYS
Screenwriting
Sample page from the feature script, The Cull written by Mark T. Rasmussen
Title: THE CULL
Written by: Mark T. Rasmussen
Genre: Action/Adventure
Setting: Los Angeles, USA, 2050
Logline: When a disillusioned soldier from a kill squad unit is discharged during a sanctioned population cull, she rebels but must overcome a brutal former captain if she's to save her sick daughter from being killed and uncover the truth to rescue humankind.
Tagline: It’s never too late to rewrite the course of history.
Synopis: When the world’s population over-exceeds predictions and hits 10 billion, it threatens to outstrip Earth’s resources and undermine the foundations of western civilisation. Worried, governments the globe over begin to cull their own populations. They undergo ‘legalised population control’ to bring their own countries’ numbers to a more manageable level. At first it’s only minority groups, the homeless, and other less fortunate souls. But when they keep on culling – everyone fears they’ll be next.
Sample page from the feature script, Cave-In written by Mark T. Rasmussen
Title: CAVE-IN
Written by: Mark T. Rasmussen
Genre: “Contained” Thriller
Setting: Rural/Countryside, Present
Logline: When a bitter couple on the brink of a nasty divorce gets trapped inside a collapsed cave, with limited supplies and no clear way out, they must learn to work together and trust again if they’re to find an escape and live.
Tagline: Some things are best left buried deep underground.
Synopis: When a trio of explorers venture into a cave near a normally disused quarry, the married couple are already on the verge of divorce. Sierra hopes that a little time “together” underground will bring them closer.
Unbeknown to them, workers who descended upon the quarry, set off explosives, which starts the collapse of a cave-in once inside. The guide is killed, crushed by rocks, so it’s up to the squabbling couple to try and put aside their grievances and distrust, in the hopes of finding a way out.
Forced into survival mode, with limited supplies and even less experience, the couple fight and argue as they try to figure things out. But along the way, Sierra’s infidelity with the now dead guide is revealed.
With their supplies dwindling (oxygen tanks, torches, food etc), injuries mounting, and no clear direction out, they’re forced to make rapid, more rash decisions because their very lives depend upon it. If they work together, there’s every chance they can still find another way out – together. If they don’t, then neither one of them will survive.
Sample page from the family comedy feature script, Rock'n'Roll Grandpa written by Mark T. Rasmussen
Title: ROCK’N’ROLL GRANDPA
Written by: Mark T. Rasmussen
Genre: Family/Comedy
Setting: Los Angeles, USA, Present
Logline: When a stubborn old man wakes from a fall to rediscover his teenage musical dream, he must regain reality or risk losing his health, home and granddaughter.
Tagline: You’re never too old to follow your dreams.
Synopis: While at a colleague's funeral, Bill a recently retired engineer becomes aware he never realised his dreams. His granddaughter Josie, wants music lessons from him, but he is too stubborn and inflexible, dismissing her. Bill gets a letter in the mail from Frank, his unscrupulous neighbour and bank manager warning he will foreclose Bill’s home. Dejected, Bill plays with his model railway but when one of the trains shorts out as he tries to fix it he is electrocuted and hurled against the wall knocking himself out. When he regains consciousness he believes he’s 15 again and chasing his teenage dream.
Bill is now rebellious, doing dumb “teenage” things and tormenting Frank. His neighbour Betty, notices his more youthful exuberance and becomes interested. While on a date, they are accosted by a street-gang. Without a second thought, Bill grabs the skateboard from the gang leader and performs some tricks. Josie comes by his house and hears music being played. She rushes in, surprised by his very different attitude.
Bill, feels more alive then ever and having fun but it comes at a price - his health is suffering with all the injuries. It’s also affecting his relationship with Josie. A visit to the doctor’s reveals if he continues his risky behaviour he could die.
Title: SENSELESS
Written by: Mark T. Rasmussen
Sample page from the feature script, Senseless written by Mark T. Rasmussen
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Setting: Medical Facility, Present
Logline: When a detached, aspiring scientist is involved in a controversial experiment with an unscrupulous colleague who’ll stop at nothing to achieve his objective, he’s not only forced to question his own ethics, but everything he believes in if he’s to liberate a life.
Tagline: How far are you prepared to go to truly connect?
Synopis: When a team of scientists conduct a radical experiment in an undisclosed facility, they theorize that the five senses cloud our awareness of eternity, and without access to them or ways to perceive stimuli, a human could actually establish contact with God by thought.
An ambitious, young scientist named Nikolai, brought in to assist, will soon find himself at odds with Werner, the unscrupulous and atheist lead scientist. The experiment will also challenge and undermine the relationship he has with his deeply pious, pregnant wife.
Randle, the elderly test subject tricked into the experiment, is removed of all his senses after a complex operation in which every sensory nerve connection to the brain is surgically severed. He will run the gamut of emotions. As will everyone involved. As Nikolai monitors him, what he witnesses not only tests his resolve but by what he knows versus what he starts to believe. It makes him question the legitimacy of the experiment. Are they pushing the envelope of science for the better or crossing ethical and moral boundaries to subjugate their own personal interests?
NEXT UP!
Title: WALLS
Written by: Mark T. Rasmussen
Genre: Drama Logline: When an unassertive man begins to fall for his abused neighbour, he’s unsure how to intervene, but as the violence escalates, he must overcome an intimidating brute of a boyfriend (and his own fears), if he is to save them both from a far worse fate. Tagline: The walls we build to keep others out, are the very ones we need to tear down in order to let them in.