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Short Available: The Stag of Wishtlan Woods

Logline: Separated from his friends while hunting an elusive stag in a primeval forest, Owen steps through the fine veil separating the worlds of reality, fairy tale, and horror. But can he find his way back before he's trapped there forever?
(48 pp., 10/12 characters, 6 locations, WGA Reg.)
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I wrote the short screenplay in the sense of "Amazing Stories" or "Jim Henson's Storyteller". Owen starts as the hunter and becomes the hunted. The story intertwines Celtic myth within a fairytale setting, including a story inside a story. It is sort of like Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast--beautiful and dangerous, not a Disney fairytale. It would be interesting to shoot the woods scenes with off-lighting or black-and-white, using true color only for the non-woods portions.

There are six settings/locations. Most are in the woods or cottages/cabins. Others are a colonial/fairytale village and blacksmith shop. Ideally, one has access to a studio lot (or lives in a wooded area near a colonial re-enactment site). It was inspired by Wistman Woods in Dartmoor, England.

There are ten characters; some characters have (or could have) various roles (role in the "fairy tale" and in the story). The two leads (male & female) should be age-matched (25-40). There are four kids-two girls and twin boys. And four male supporting characters (16ish, 25ish, 35ish, 55ish). The time period initially envisioned for Owen is the late 19th or early 20th century but the script is open so a more contemporary period might be used.

Its fantastic elements would require puppetry, CGI, or stop motion with post-production effects (creating gremlins/imps). There are also sequences requiring a dog, deer (stag), and a bear.

Probably outside the scope of many indie producers. If you know any MFA film students needing a project for their thesis .... ;) It still needs refinement but I am willing to work with someone interested in the script. The script was written to allow the director/producer a range of freedom with cinematography. It may be adaptable for animation.
 
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