Here you will find information about my unproduced screenplays. Click on any of the items to the left to view a synopsis. If you would like more information about any of these pieces, please contact me at devonnigelreed at yahoo dot com.

Out of Water tells the story of Maverick Eaton, an aspiring competitive surfer who does battle with the oil industry after an accident off the coast forces the beaches to close.

Maverick spends most of his days passing the time on the beach as a surf instructor. His two closest friends are a teenager named Gillie and an grizzled old character named Shelby who owns a surf shop near the shore. The film opens with a sequence in which Maverick and Gillie try to steal some precious wood from a logging expedition in the hopes that Shelby can forge a quality surfboard out of it. The act demonstrates both Maverick's risk-taking persona as well as his anti-authoritarian edge.

Eventually, Maverick receives a letter from a famous surfing competition inviting Maverick to participate in the event. His dreams of training for the event are dashed, however, when an oil rig explosion off the coastline forces the beaches to close. Maverick's attempt at retaliation only leaves him feeling compassion after he and Gillie tar and feather one of the oil rig workers. However, when an ex-flame named Eleanor appears and asks Maverick to investigate a potential hire for her company, Maverick discovers that the meek scientist he meets may hold the key for exacting more damaging revenge on the oil industry as a whole.

It is thus that Maverick becomes embroiled in the conflict between Dr. Cleary and John Pinkus, an executive at the HaliCo oil conglomerate. HaliCo having acquired the solar engineering company for which he works, Dr. Cleary decides to defect. Maverick learns of the doctor's intentions and helps him avoid the violent forces that would silence him and prevent him from sharing his valuable knowledge with the world. When Pinkus hires an assassin named Boswell to take care of Cleary, Maverick is forced to play the role of protector in keeping Dr. Cleary alive. Finally, fearing that HaliCo may be able to control Cleary's invention via patents and legal maneuvering, Maverick and the doctor's would-be employers team up and go on the offensive, as they perform a daring raid to destroy what technological information may still be in the hands of HaliCo.

Out of Water is an tale in the spirit of Indiana Jones - an ecological adventure pitting common men against the evil forces that would use their power to thwart society's progress. Out of Water contains three major action set pieces and is written for maximum spectacle and excitement.

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The Last Act tells the story of Angus McLeod, a fifties-era prisoner, who is looking for a way to escape his bonds. When a do-gooder woman's group introduces the theater and the performing arts to the uncultured prisoners, Angus tries to manipulate an upcoming theater production into a ruse for flying the coop.

The story begins with Angus' first escape attempt, in which he stabs an elderly guard named Edgar but is ultimately captured at the hands of Luke, a sadistic prison guard. Angus takes the capture as a sign that he is perhaps meant to give up his wayward actions and start to behave. Angus' wife, Bonnie, however, has no desire to wait for her incarcerated husband, and eggs him on to continue his attempts at freedom. When the warden's wife Dolores brings a ladies' club to the prison to put on a theater production, Angus enlists the help of an oafish yet kindly prisoner named George, and Paul - a nebbish librarian - to help him manipulate the production to his own ends.

By the end of the production, Angus finds himself performing a balancing act between managing Bonnie – who has infiltrated the ladies' club, Luke – who Angus seduces into performing in rather than policing the play, and George – who is becoming more and more infatuated with the idea of becoming a cultured thespian. By the end of the play, Angus must come to a decision about what is more important: his freedom or his newfound friendships.

The Last Act is a darkly comedic look at one man's attempts at freedom no matter what the cost. It is the story of someone desperate to escape to an imaginary paradise, even as those around him try to make do with what they already have.

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Ecstasy is a comedy about envy run amok, set in a present day warehouse dance rave. The story follows its protagonist, Stacy, as she unleashes forces beyond her control in the course of pursuing the object of her affection.

Stacy is a recently graduated high school graduate, living and succeeding on her own, and mostly content to spend her energy and free time dancing the evenings away with her best friend Lucy. On this particular night, however, she has her eyes set on meeting an attractive young DJ spinning music for the crowd.

Her plans are complicated when she discovers that a beautiful stranger named Shannon may also have her eyes on the same young man. In a desperate move to thwart her competition, Stacy laces a bottle of water with ecstasy and watches as Shannon hydrates herself with the concoction. There is collateral damage from Stacy's actions, however, as Lucy curiously samples the drug she finds among Stacy's possessions and consequently forgets to check in with her mother at home.

It is thus that we find Stacy's best friend Lucy thoroughly tripping, her would-be enemy Shannon trying to form a bond of friendship, and Lucy's mother descending on the scene to locate her daughter. With Stacy's environment turned topsy-turvy, she must ultimately make a choice between pursuing her romantic interests and returning her world to balance.

Ecstasy is a lighthearted tale of growing up and taking responsibility, set to a constantly pulsating beat. Using lighting and music to maximum effect and taking place entirely within the confines of a single location, Ecstasy could be filmed on a limited budget.

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