Some directors would do just about anything to get their films made. In Sedrick Amar II’s Blood On The Screenplay, a director goes too far in making sure he gets to direct his perfect feature. The director (Joseph Miller) in question kidnaps a top Hollywood writer (Sam Mandel).
The director intends on having the writer write a movie that he can direct. But not just any film, something that “sticks to ya.” During the kidnapping, the director demands pitches from the writer. Pitch after pitch, the director does not seem satisfied until it finally hits him that he had the idea for the story all along.
“…a director goes too far in making sure he gets to direct his perfect feature.”
This is an interesting premise for a movie, but I do not feel that the director or the three screenwriters — Dan Zand, Matt Gould, and Amar II — executed the production with great strength. First off, Blood On The Screenplay is littered with unnecessary filters and fonts that pop up on the screen every few seconds. The overuse of filters made it seem that someone was just experimenting with some film editor tool and got a bit too carried away. Aside from that, the quality of the visuals and sound are not the greatest.
What I did think was a smart move was that each pitch gets played out as if it were shot. For instance, we go from the room where the kidnapping is taking place, and as the writer pitches his stories, we are taken to an entirely different set. I feel that without this feature, the short would be close to unwatchable. Although we see the different pitches on screen, they are all quite ridiculous and not in a comedic way. The movie tries to be a dark action-comedy but falls short on the humor side of things.
The plot of Blood On The Screenplay is an interesting idea. However, even with its violent ending that is somewhat satisfying, in the end, this is something that fails to “stick[s] to ya.”
"…an interesting premise..."
