Summary: An American footballer has the greatest super human strength and is undefeated on the field. What make him stand out even more is that he had a terrible car accident which could have killed him but surprisingly he survived and is now a force putting his underdog team back on the map. However, a deeper backstory lurks in the shadows and its up to Cali Neal, a new journalist to figure out what's happening to Robert.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Julie Sheppard
Cali: Hannah Ehman
Pettibone: Geoff Mays

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

It follows a superhuman football running back, Robert Pettibone, who comes has no past. Unbeknownst to the team, he is secretly receiving treatments to preserve his exceptional strength and agility. He begins to suspect something odd about a doctor administering his shots and begins to question his past and what he’s experiencing, but he is experiencing amnesia. He enlists a new beat reporter, Cali, to help him investigate. As they find out more behind the scenes, it points to some sort of conspiracy. Eventually, he finds out that he was nearly killed in Afghanistan and was kept alive by an experimental surgery.

2. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

It not only exposes the brutality of football, it illustrates the loss of identity and the ethical view of cloning human beings - how far should we go?

3. How would you describe this script in two words?

Difficult question. I can think of a sentence but at the spur of the moment I’d say, “losing control”

4. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

There are two that come to mind: Casablanca and Once Upon a Time in the West

5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

Two years off and on. Too many revisions to count.

6. How many stories have you written?

I have written six feature screenplays and five short scripts.

7. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

I was initially motivated by being diagnosed with liver cancer and needed to fill a void in my life. However, now, it’s the excitement of creating something from my thoughts. My goal, as is all screenwriters’ goal, is to have one of my screenplays produced. I’m working toward that objective, realistic or not. I simply write because I have always had a passion for writing screenplays or making movies.

8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

It’s a very convoluted story that must be pieced together without scenes being inconsistent with each other. I wanted to achieve quite a bit with The Red Zone: develop a plausible relationship between Pettibone and Cali as well as Pettibone and the sympathetic Dr. Meng; convey what is known and not known due to Pettibone’s amnesia and combine it with PSTD; creating a professional football world as well as what takes place behind the scenes with the commissioner; creating the goal for all of the characters involved and how Pettibone’s condition originated; figure out what Dr. Qay wants out of his scheming; etc.
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9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

I read quite a bit, follow professional sports teams in Cleveland and Ohio State, and watch a great deal of movies.

10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

I was attracted to the festival because it was specifically looking for Sci-Fi
screenplays. I was overwhelmed by the feedback. It commented positively on what I was trying to achieve.

11. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Science Fiction, Sports and Thriller