ANTI-GRAV
My screenplay, ANTI-GRAV, received an Honorable Mention in the 2010 Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition.
Logline:
An overweight janitor at a physics lab tries to lose a few pounds before his wedding, but after he is accidentally exposed to an energy wave that reverses the effects of gravity, his whole world is literally turned upside-down.
Synopsis:
Newton Shmewton! The laws of gravity are thrown out the window in this comedic tale of weird science gone wrong. Manny is a janitor at a physics research lab who is about to marry the girl of his dreams, but when his doctor advises him to lose weight to avoid potential health problems, he has difficulty finding the balance and self-control needed for successful dieting. After a physicist’s experiment accidentally exposes Manny to anti-gravity energy, he finds himself quickly shedding pounds, even if he isn’t actually getting any thinner. Pretty soon he’s floating around his apartment like Tom Hanks in Apollo 13. When he wakes up the next morning with his face pressed against the stucco ceiling, he realizes that weightlessness was merely the halfway point in his transformation. Now he is fully upside-down. To make matters worse, the scientist decides that the world isn’t ready for anti-gravity technology, so he sets out to hide his discovery and destroy all the evidence… including Manny! If he’s going to survive this ordeal and get his feet back firmly on the ground in time for his wedding, Manny must learn to view the world from a whole new perspective.
Select quotes from the Fresh Voices judge’s evaluation of ANTI-GRAV:
- Wow! What a delightful script about a man who’s personal sense of gravity is turned upside-down. As I read, I could easily envision the movie magic that would bring this scenario to life in a visually entrancing and often hilarious way. You did an outstanding job of following your own rules – there was never a time where I had to stop and say, “Wait, that wouldn’t work,” and that due diligence really paid off in creating an immersive world with no jarring inconsistencies.
- Manny as a protagonist is eminently relatable and likeable. He obviously has a heart of gold, but he’s also a lovable underdog.
- Your script has a light-hearted tone throughout, but you still manage to grapple with real conflict and high stakes. This even-handed tone helped your screenplay from straying into either the melodrama of another superhero origin story or the zany what-me-worry mood of a cartoon world.
- You’ve crafted the sort of film here that will leave your audience thinking and smiling as they leave the theater. Well done!
Feel free to contact me if you would like to request a copy of ANTI-GRAV.
