Another Script of Mine: ON THE FLY

“On the Fly” Logline: Two low-level hotel workers at a historic hotel in a sleepy southeastern Minnesota town blackmail the sleazy, unscrupulous GM after they discover he’s been secretly videotaping hotel guests in their bedrooms for over four decades. Their plan implodes and they go on the run to escape a ruthless hitman who tries to kill them and retrieve the ransom money.

I paid to submit a written pitch to filmmaker/director/producer Dror Soref, who’s produced over a hundred musical videos and ads. He started with the I Love Rocky Road music video for a then unknown “Weird Al” Yankovic in 1983, after attending USC School of Cinema. He later directed the Best Short Film nominated Platinum Blonde. With the help of Paramount, The Seventh Coin became Soref’s debut as a feature film writer/director. Starring Peter O’Toole, The Seventh Coin won two festival awards in 1993, including Best Picture. Throughout the following decade Soref directed or executive produced over a hundred commercials and music videos.^[1] In 2003, Soref returned to feature films, co-producing Basic for Columbia Pictures, starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. In 2009 Soref wrote, directed and produced the critically acclaimed and Saturn Award nominee for Best Science Fiction Not Forgotten starring Simon Baker.

Although he passed on my script, he liked the concept and presentation. Here’s Soref’s comments:

“I like the pitch, and the project in general. The pitch delivery is very good, and the writer’s personality comes thru. It does feel like the writer knows the world he is writing about. The presentation is clear and to the point. This is a very good concept. As hinted, one gets a real glimpse into a world we know nothing about (speaking for myself). The plot is well drafted. As for marketability, I think the good part is that many movies with this kind of theme have been made, the drawback is that it therefore competes with many other projects… I like it even though I would pass, just because it doesn’t fit what I currently concentrating on. Well Done!”