Hello.
My name is Steven Oppenheimer. I
have written about a dozen screenplays and stage plays. A partial list
follows, along with
awards received in writing competitions.
A Secret Service agent, on trial for assassinating
the President, realizes on the witness stand that before answering to
the jury he must first
answer to himself:
Was firing the fatal bullet a crime or an act of conscience?
Theme
The Patriot Act explores
the internal moral conflict of any nation which aspires towards liberty
but is on a perpetual wartime, national security footing. The
story has some action and there are some very interesting
visuals. However, it's mainly about the characters and their motives,
their decisions, and their divided loyalties, as revealed through dialog
as well as actions. The
Patriot Act is meant to be thought provoking, and is not an “escapist,” good-guys-kick-butt-on-bad-guys
thriller.
Top Ten Finalistin
the 2011
Contest of Contest Winners Competition (All scripts entered
in this competition were Quarterfinalists or better in other major
competitions in
the past five years)
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Coverage
"You clearly understand
one of the most important rules of Hollywood screenwriting: hook
the reader from page one. Present us with an intriguing set-up and
mystery,
get the reader to ask questions so that he keeps turning the pages
and doesn’t put the script down." (2008 Page Awards)
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Comments
The Patriot Act is,
inevitably, a rather somber story. Yet there is humor—the President
is a particularly funny guy, and the
Secret Service agents and other characters have their flashes of wit
as well. One of the challenges was trying to juxtapose the lighter aspects
with the more serious elements, without it all seeming incongruous. The
ultimate goal was to create an environment that seemed culturally and
politically authentic. Imagine The West Wing where something
goes seriously, seriously wrong.
An auto mechanic winds up in possession
of an alien black box with nearly limitless power, a kind of hi-tech genie.
The mechanic has it, the U.S. government wants it, the Russians want in,
and the box has a few ideas of its own. The chase is on....
Theme
Who is really better qualified to wield
power, Ivy League statesmen or common men?
Quarterfinalist (top 25%) in the 2008
PAGE International Screenplay Competition
Quarterfinalist (top 25%) in the 2008 Fade
In Competition
Excerpt
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Coverage
"The
story is fun and well written. There are some nice original elements
and great twists
and turns. The themes and messages are excellent and the characters
are wonderful." (2008 Slamdance)
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Comments
The
tagline ("I wish I was smarter") suggests the story is about
a man who becomes smarter as a result of the alien technology (as in
the recent film Limitless). But the idea is actually
the opposite—auto
mechanics and statesmen alike, no one gets much smarter as a result of
having the technology. Further, positively no one is smart enough to
deal with this technology.
I
was very proud of how this script came out, and of the multiple recognitions
it
received
in competitions.
Nonetheless,
as I write this (April 2011) I am doing a significant rewrite. The
original script was relatively cerebral. The rewrite will be more action
oriented,
while still raising the same central thematic issues.
A wealthy businessman returns to his family
home only to confront his blue collar roots, the resentments his success
stirs up, and desperate family members caught in a crashing economy.
Theme
My Big Fat, Financially Struggling,
Swing-First-Ask-Questions-Later — No, Never-Mind-Just-Keep-Swinging — Italian
Family
Success is about American
class conflict—blue collar vs. white collar—personified through
the rifts within a single family where one member has really "made
it" and the others, not so much. The story is carried by individuals and
their
lives,
but
the
theme is financial justice.
2nd Round (top 25%) in the 2010 PAGE
International Screenplay Competition
Excerpt
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Coverage
"There is much to like here
in this heartfelt look at the conflicts in a family in which one member
has
chosen to pursue a different sort of life such that he and his family
have a hard time relating or even understanding each other. One of the
author’s
main achievements is having a very large cast of characters, yet is able
to give each of them their own voice such that a reader, and eventually
the audience, can easily tell them apart.
"Though all the characters
are well drawn, for some reason Joey stands out, a nice lug of a guy who
often seems to not have a clue. The way
the family and the various characters relate to each other feels
very real. The author has created a very convincing family with plenty
of
history and various interpersonal relationships." (2010 Slamdance)
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Comments
And the Big Conflict is... <drum
roll, please...>
There is no Big Conflict. There is plenty
of head-to-head crashing of family members, but none of it is over any specific,
immediate
financial conflict or concrete
business dealing. The story is precisely about the perception of conflict,
the feeling of alienation between the rich and the not rich, and the ways
in which these perceptions and feelings rend people apart.
Die Hard meets Phone
Booth.
A hard-driving
young entrepreneur, engineer, and father-to-be (think young Steve Jobs)
is trapped in a secret government
building during an attack. Though desperate to escape, he is the only one
in a position
to
save many
lives... at risk of his own death. He is forced to confront his obligations
to others through the voices of a security guard and a seven year old girl.
Theme
When, if ever, should we really be called
upon—or ask ourselves—to make sacrifices for others?
Quarterfinalist (top 10%) in the 2011
PAGE International Screenplay Competition
Quarterfinalist (top 10%) in the 2010 PAGE International Screenplay
Competition
Excerpt
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Fireman. (JavaScript must be enabled on your browser.)
Coverage
"FIREMAN is a taut thriller
about a man directed by an unseen voice to perform tasks in
a government facility that may be about to explode with hundreds of
people
trapped inside.... I’m not going to use my space here showering
you with compliments, because the script is so good and so near “hot
spec” status that
I want to be as helpful as possible in getting you there. But
I loved this script and think you have big time talent....
"Early in
the script, you do a good job of letting us wonder what’s really
happening here and give us a chance to consider a range of
possibilities while each puzzle piece slowly fits into place. This
makes the script
great fun, because an audience member who is thinking and wondering
is someone who is completely caught up in your story." (2010
PAGE Awards Screenplay Competition)
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Comments
This is not an action thriller.
Except for a brief opening scene there is no gunplay, no blood. The principal
bad guys are never shown, but only suggested through their presence via
technology. Fireman is
a psychological thriller and character-driven story. The film can be done
as a relatively low
budget
production.
Throughout
most
of the
story
only
three
characters
are present,
and there is essentially one major location, a large building (the
secret government facility).
Poor Ryan Storm. Saving the world is a very big job.
Genre
Science Fiction & Action/Adventure
Logline
Sliders meets The
Office
A young paralegal, putting in a late Friday
night at a law firm, daydreams of being a fighter pilot saving the world...
or is it the fighter jock, trapped in an endless, deadly civil war, who
daydreams of an ordinary job in peaceful times?
Theme
A boring day job in peaceful times actually
is more meaningful than saving the world in a time of war. Be
thankful for the peace you have.
Awards
2nd Round (top 25%) in the 2009 PAGE International
Screenplay Competition
Excerpt
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Daydreams. (JavaScript must be enabled on your browser.)
Coverage
"What if a daydream could
save the world? That is a curious question, and one that I feel sums
up what
your script is trying to say....
"Thematically, the script is very
strong. The script presents a corporate world...
where humans are no longer valued
employees, instead they are drones with “scanning tabs” and “holosplays,” expected
to work until midnight at the drop of the hat, at the company’s
whim. It is no wonder then that... they would
want to escape to... a world
of fighter jets and excitement, of adventure and freedom in the skies.
It is only
there that these characters, led by Ryan Storm, can wax poetic about
life and love, and ponder the potential outcome of ongoing civil wars
between their planet and another.
"I was impressed with the way you
used imagery in the script. Whether a flag, a look, or something as random
as popcorn, it seems as though
everything was supposed to mean something. The script was very visual
in this way.... [T]he amount of information that you packed into
each scene... helped create a world that is rich, colorful and fun
to try and imagine." (2009 PAGE Awards)
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Comments
This is a complex story,
with layered interactions between two parallel worlds, and with layered
subtext in the storyline. It would challenge an audience, but
also be lots of fun. A few great action and special effects scenes as
well. As with Fireman (above), this is another script
for which a significant rewrite is actively in progress.
Several middle-aged adults whose lives
have not turned out quite as planned ask themselves: “How the hell
exactly did we wind up... here?” Also featured are two teenagers,
kids of one of the adults, who ask themselves, “Are we going to
wind up the hell like... them!?”
Theme
Multiple themes, reflecting issues of
hope, possibilities, limits, loss, and the impact of the passage of time
on all the above.
Awards
Quarterfinalist in both the 2007 and 2008
Writers Network Competition
Excerpt
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Coverage
None available. (Stage play
competitions, unlike screenplay competitions, generally don't seem to
make coverage available.)
Comments
It's tempting to call this
a dramedy, because I tried to weave in a lot of humor. But on balance,
it's more drama. Two sets (kitchen and living room) each requiring the
full stage for each of two acts. Six main characters (four adults, two
teens), no doubling possible. However... there are extended flashback
scenes, where all the characters get to play other characters in each
others lives. The adults get to play themselves as younger (along with
playing various other roles), and the teens get to play adults. So, lots
of fun for the actors as well
as the
audience!
(Where available, links
are posted for sites for screenplay competitions, if the
wins are still posted. Some
competitions do not maintain postings after the winning year.)
