New draft for this script... few changes since the original. We're keeping the line of dialogue and this is pretty much how this will be filmed. This is the more difficult out of the two projects as action is hard to film. Luckily some of my friends are fighters of one type or another and have experience choreographing fight scenes for small indie productions. So that will be a huge help. Out of the two though, this is the one I'm looking forward to the most. Hopefully we get this one done before the end of the year.

I'll put the link here for now as the original is stored on this site: http://www.dustinbowcott.com/PDFS/The%20Man:%20issue%201.pdf

This script is no longer available.

Hi Dustin,

I get why you are calling your main character The Man, he’s the generic alter ego of the superhero he symbolically becomes when he dons the cowl, the normal guy no-one is supposed to notice. Similarly with Youth1 etc. they are nameless henchmen.

However because of this I felt no emotion for the characters, there was no backstory, I had no idea why this guy’s family was attacked in such a brutal way. He was wearing a military uniform so yes that was a clue but why him in particular and why his entire family in such a deeply personal way? It seemed to be brutality just for the sake of titillation.

I kept on asking myself why? Why are they attacked? Why did the son know they were about to be attacked before they were attacked? How did the man survive two shots to the chest and then brutal torture?

I recently read a screenplay writing book which includes a section about writing fight scenes. It says not to go into too much detail as the reader tends to skip through to the conclusion where the protagonist wins. I found myself doing exactly that on page 5 and 6.

Saying that though this script had a very good Unbreakable vibe going on, it made me think of Bruce Willis’s character in that movie. I liked the flashbacks mirroring current events, I liked the symbolism of the cowl.

I also liked the last line. He's trying to save his wife as well as this stranger, the line delivers.

Overall a good job.

Regards,

Mark

Cheers mate. This is issue 1. If it gets any kudos, and I think it will, when we make it then I'll write another one. This is actually part of a larger story I've carried with me for years.

The way I see it, everything is symbolic - right down to losing his family - of the classic origins story. They were attacked by insurgents who were overtaking the country he comes from, he was tortured and managed to escape the country, landing in this one, but that isn't actually important for this short. I believe his family being killed is symbolic enough, the actual reasons unimportant for this particular short. This is also an exercise in writing dialogue-free and that is part of the allure with this as a short film, I believe. Alongside the action, I could see this one doing well at festivals, if done well.

Thanks again for the read.

Had a meeting today with who we hoped to be the main star and he's agreed. Really excited and I can reveal that the main star will be Silvio Simac with Anthony Niner playing the main antagonist.

It was a good meeting with Silvio today and he's a really nice guy... laid back and willing to listen to our plans. He likes the script... but to be honest, this short will now be a showcase to raise funds for the feature so will probably change a lot. His reputation as a fighter is second to none. 14 times British TaeKwondo champion as well as holding black belts in other disciplines. He's appeared alongside Jason Statham and Jet Li, has worked in the Chinese movie industry as well as making quite an impact here in the UK.





Also, here is a link to a fight choreographed by he and Scott Adkins, another amazing British fighter... this is the sort of level we want to bring in The Man.