Dracul-Stein
A bitter writer takes revenge on a man who he believes stole his creation.
Stolen property. Revenge. A hit man. Screenwriter Colin Sharp’s latest short has all the makings of a suspense-filled thriller. Only…well, that title: Dracul-Stein. It’s absurd, right? And, that’s just what Sharp delivers with this hilarious, most-definitely absurd comedy.
Sharp takes his time setting up his world—a world where perhaps the worst script in the history of movie-making has just taken the Oscar. How can this be? Everyone wants to know. (Sharp hints, but never answers the question—is it because of the writer’s strike?)
One problem: Mikey Lewis believes the script, HIS script, Dracul-Stein, was stolen—from the original idea down to FADE OUT, and he’s definitely NOT happy about it. He’s determined. The Oscar-winning thief, Billy Villin, needs to pay for his misdeed.
So, Mikey does what any angry screenwriter would do. He hires a hit man. (Well, maybe not ANY screenwriter.) It’s here that we meet Shivers—shady, smartly dressed, and, of course, Italian.
MIKEY
Shivers?
Shivers nods.
MIKEY
Never really done anything
like this before.
SHIVERS
Don't give a shit,
who's the target?
Shivers is the cliche hit man to the core. And, that’s the point. Sharp sets up the cliche and proceeds to mine it for comedy. How?
MIKEY
Hold on, man…wondered if I can
add a stipulation to the proceedings?
SHIVERS
Stipulations are expensive.
Yes. Stipulations. And, this stipulation is a doozy—one that’s responsible for a laugh-filled race to the finish: for Mikey to get full revenge, Shivers must complete the hit dressed as Dracul-Stein, the half-Dracula, half-Frankenstein character from the stolen script.
It’s here that Sharp’s script really takes off, with visuals that—well, I won’t spoil the finish, except to say, Sharp has you torn between laughter and empathy as poor Shivers, the most sympathetic hit man you’ll ever meet attempts to do the deed, in full costume, while reading provided lines, mere feet from Billy’s swimming pool.
Dracul-Stein is 10 pages of fun, the perfect project for a time when audiences are looking for an escape from a world seemingly on fire. It’s an easy shoot, relatively inexpensive, with a small cast, few locations and just enough small challenges to make it interesting. And, bonus, there’s simply no way you can’t have fun bringing poor Shivers to life.
Production Notes:
Script includes light gunplay.
Locations (residential interior, bar, street, exterior residential w/ pool, police interview room) could be shot as is, or minimized for simplified shooting.
Dream sequence includes audience shots (could be stock.)
Character costumes – easy to find or DIY.
Small cast. Additional Actor/Extras.