TV Pilot: AVAILABLE
SOUL SAFARI, a limited series TV pilot based on the book Safari for the Soul by Jan Boal. janboal.com
GENRE: SPIRITUAL QUEST, Character Driven
LOG LINE: A story of triumph on Safari, a psychiatric nurse confronted by perilous animal encounters, trusts her visions and follows her instincts to help understand signs from the Universe.
Pilot: 63 pages.
5 one hour episodes.
THEME: Letting Go of Fear to Live Your Best Life.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Young Adult – Seniors. World Travelers and Adventurers: Inspirational, Spiritual, Environmental, Educational. Vision Quest. Self-improvement.
SYNOPSIS:
A woman’s quest takes her across the globe on an inspirational adventure that most only dare to dream about. In answering her call, Jan believes the universe provides signs and guidance and following her path. She embarks on a spiritual and environmental journey studying endangered animals: jaguars and the remote areas of Brazil, dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea around Greece, and black rhinos in the bush covered plains of Kenya, and she treks through the Impenetrable Forest of Uganda to observe the silverback gorillas. Through heartbreaking, and at times, perilous expeditions, Jan utilizes these Universal signs like a navigational tool, enhancing her inner strength and intuition and leading her to a remarkable showdown that results in her initiation as a Maasai Warrior.
Creative Team:
Jan Boal, RN is an author, healer and working psychiatric registered nurse. Her popular workshops focus on Positivity. She lives on the Oregon Coast with her husband and fur friends.
Hester Schell, MFA is an author, optioned screenwriter (INVISIBLE, a co-write shoots in 2024) director, a SAG/AFTRA member, veteran acting teacher, award winning filmmaker, and retired professor of film and theatre.
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FEATURES
Available –
A MATTER OF TIME, a feature by Hester Schell and Jose Huguez. Story by David Wisnievitz. Based on the book of the same name by Don Kirchner, C. 2004.
GENRE: ACTION, Character Driven.
This one is a trip. And it’s all true, every bit of it. Vietnam Vet Dude. Drug dealer. Pilot. Had the FBI tailing him for five years. When one operation completely embarrasses the Bureau, our Alias drug running pilot becomes their top target.
This character driven action feature is a thrill ride of aliases, drug cartels, flying under the radar, evading capture. This is real? This guy did what? “No way!” They landed a C 47 transport plane loaded with weed from South America to Mississippi, in a field, undetected by the United States Military? The man-hunt to get this guy took the Bureau five years to catch him. And just how did he learn to fly under the radar? Oh, right. US Army. Seriously, you can’t make this up. You’ll just have to send me a read request for this adapted screenplay.
Don K, who lived it, and David W, who made Marvin’s Room, Training Day, Sliding Doors, Searching for Bobby Fischer and a bunch of other BIG hits agreed to hire me to do the rewrite. O’fer Pete’s Sakes! THAT David Wisnievitz and I’m on the phone taking notes and doing rewrites with DW. How did I get here? Same way we all do. Write, rewrite, repeat. Stay humble, be patient.
LOG LINE: He searched for freedom in the skies, he found it in a prison cell.
SYNOPSIS: When there’s nowhere left to hide, hide in plain sight, as in take an alias. A true story of an American Dream gone wrong…a nightmare of one man’s journey through hell as he descends from all-around good guy, decorated military pilot, father and entrepreneur into the depths of despair in the brutal federal prison system. In order to survive, he must find the courage and self-respect to overcome terror and adversity. When all seems lost and hopeless, he finds purpose and meaning in his life by helping others.
Be cool. Stay Calm. It’s just a matter of time.
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FEATURE: STATUS UNAVAILABLE
INVISIBLE by Gabriell Debear Paye & Hester Schell
OPTIONED January 2023.
PRE-PRODUCTION, November 2023, Klaar Star Films
GENRE: Romantic-Dramedy
Diverse casting, with a strong female lead.
Semi-Finalist, Women Who Write In Film Competition, 2019
Quarter Finalist: Portland Screenplay Awards, 2021
Recommend: Extreme Screenwriting, FIX MY SCREENPLAY
LOG LINE: What do you do when you age out of jobs and relationships, and nobody notices you anymore? This is the story of a woman’s outrageous attempts to recreate her life by finding new meaning and love.
SYNOPSIS:
As HARRIETT turns 50, her worst birthday ever, the world shifts and people no longer notice her. Harriett’s husband runs off with a younger woman, she loses her job, and friends and family suddenly have no time for her. After a near mental breakdown she meets LIONEL, a one-legged street musician in a wheelchair, ignored everywhere he goes. She pursues him to learn about the rules of living for people who feel marginalized.
Harriett hits the streets to test Lionel’s theory: Only the invisible see each other and they’re everywhere.
A deep connection between Harriett and Lionel is sparked as they help a homeless teenager deliver a baby on the street. Then Harriett tracks down Lionel’s lost-in-the-system prosthetic leg. Standing now on two feet, the attraction between them is strong. But when Harriett’s adult son won’t accept her new boyfriend, Lionel leaves, thinking they are racist.
Harriett forges on, envisioning a way to support the disenfranchised she sees all around.
Using her divorce settlement, she buys a fixer-upper to create a community center and thwarts her ex-husband’s luxury condo development on the same property. She puts homeless men to work fixing it up and helps the teen mother. On her 51st birthday, Lionel returns and “The Visibility Center” opens. Lionel and Harriett dance the night away.
When the invisible team up, they create a force that can’t be ignored!
WRITING TEAM:
HESTER SCHELL, M.F.A. is an optioned and produced writer, award-winning director, author, script supervisor and script competition finalist who writes social good and environmental stewardship stories with roles for mature women. She is the author of the critically acclaimed volume, CASTING REVEALED: A Guide for Film Directors. She writes a column at Script Magazine and is a professor of film and theatre, retired. She resides in the Pacific Northwest.
GABRIELL DEBEAR PAYE, M.A. is a 6-time optioned screenwriter who writes entertaining biopics, and dramas with social and environmental themes. Her writing is informed by parenting, teaching science, travel, and interacting with people from many cultures. She studied screenwriting at Emerson College and ScreenwritingU. She’s a published author, 9-time contest finalist, and Script Consultant and Producer for the movie Pinsky. Gabriell is represented by: LaTonja Sutton, Talent Agent, Arnay Talent Agency, SAG-AFTRA, WGA (323)-703-8383. contact@arnaytalent.com
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FEATURE: AVAILABLE
TRAGIC FLAW by Hester Schell
GENRE: Noir Thriller. Likely “R” Rating.
Small cast, women leads, aged 40+
“Recommend” Extreme Screenwriting – Barb Doyon
2021 Portland Screenplay Awards
LOG LINE: Revenge is sweet. Infidelity is delicious. Getting away with murder? Justice. A jilted wife pays the ultimate price when her only child is caught in the jealous crossfire.
An Update of the Medea myth.
MORE FEATURES: AVAILABLE
FINAL PASSAGE by Hester Schell
GENRE – Female Driven, Faith Based Drama. Spiritual themes with ghost/love story. Environmental interest. G rating.
LOG LINE – The power of wilderness to heal the human heart: A grieving widow trades harsh Brooklyn for pristine Alaska after a life-changing summer solstice cruise where her husband’s ghost bargains with God and Archangel Gabriel for more time.
COLONY COLLAPSE by Hester Schell
QUARTER FINALIST, ScreenCraft, Pilot Competition 2015.
LOGLINE – The next generation has a better idea on how to run the family farm: Grandma always said eat your vegetables. The food revolution has begun. The Circle of Life.
SUMMARY – This is the story of a family thriving on Phoenix Farm since before the Civil War. Rich soil, good conditions. Until now. Bee colony collapse disorder and fierce storms cut into profits. Encroaching suburbs threaten their way of life. Solutions have siblings at polar opposites, a family is pushed to the edge. Can they hang to their land? Can they farm in the 21st century? A beekeeper’s love just might solve this family feud.
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SHORT FILM
WHERE’S MY DOG by Hester Schell
Dogs Rule, Size Matters. FARCE. Acerbic wit and rapid fire dialog.
2 Principal Characters.
1 Location
LOG LINE: Where Fashion and Film intersect.
Tiny Nancy, a beautiful great dane, is the only dog left at the groomer’s when a Hollywood trophy-wife, ready for a red carpet event, makes a quick stop to fetch her “purse-pooch,” all designed as part of her husband’s big movie deal. Lordy what a nightmare.
Portland, OR USA
hester dot schell at gmail dot com