Film & TV Script Projects
written by Daniel Kemp
Rainbow Girl & the Mud Boy
Feature / Family Adventure / Superhero / Dramatic Comedy
A 9-year-old influencer discovers incredible powers that can heal the world, but first, she must save a deeply troubled little boy with destructive powers of his own.
A timely family adventure / superhero movie with environmental, social justice & mental health messaging… delivered with a Taika Waititi sensibility. Featuring rainbows, slime, a lot of mud, strong female characters, cute kids, a squirrel, & a unicorn! ‘Shazam!’ meets ‘Joker’ might be pushing it… but along those lines! Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinalist 2020.
He Raced The Devil
FEATURE / dramatic COMEDY / MYSTERY
An inept amateur detective discovers his inheritance may be a curse when he’s saved from a forest fire by a mysterious hermit.
Set mostly in a forest in modern-day England, with a small cast, inspired by actual legends & interwoven with the atmospheric poetry of Percy Shelley & William Blake. A character study of a lost soul with a combative, yet curious nature & an acerbic wit, seeking his purpose in life. With additional themes of genealogy, folklore, friendship, the failings of social welfare, & escaping the system.
The Last Ride Out
FEATURE / ACTION THRILLER / NEO-WESTERN
With the help of a disgraced boxer, an American fugitive framed for the murder of his girlfriend, escapes towards the Thai border pursued by a brutal police hitman.
‘Lethal Weapon’ meets ‘Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid’. An action thriller with Western tropes set in modern Thailand. Motorbikes for horses, Thai boxing for bar brawls, beaches for deserts. A buddy movie about two men who share similar traumas, both entangled in police corruption & gang crime. A movie that will appeal to Western & Asian audiences.
The Owl That Roared
FEATURE ANIMATION / FAMILY ADVENTURE / COMEDY
When a giant owl who thinks he’s a lion escapes from London Zoo, it’s left to an unlikely group of feathered heroes to save their community.
A comedy-adventure story about identity, family, loss & overcoming fear. Also, a love letter to London & its multicultural community in this case represented in bird form; exploring their loves, their dangers, their challenges, & what might happen if a baby owl was raised by an unlikely surrogate family. The result is a wild world of colourful birds & a larger social message that it’s OK to be different.
The Vicious Ones
FEATURE / ACTION / comedy / ROMANCE
The leader of an uber-cool female biker gang must appease her fearsome criminal overlords, by carrying out an audacious airport heist with the help of a down-on-his-luck racing driver.
‘Drive’ meets ‘True Romance’ meets ‘Vice Magazine’. Set in fashionably edgy East London, exploring romance under the most intense circumstances, finding a direction in life, hipster culture, & the fallout of taking the ‘easy’ route to riches. High-speed urban motorcycle chases, strong female characters, & an ‘Italian Job’ style heist on go-karts in an airport.
Mission To Lars
FEATURE / DRAMATIC COMEDY / DOCUMENTARY ADAPTATION
An autistic man leaves the safety of his care home in rural England and sets off to America with his siblings on a mission to meet his hero, Lars Ulrich, the drummer from Metallica.
‘Little Miss Sunshine’ meets ‘Rainman’ meets ‘Spinal Tap’. An adaptation of the feature documentary. A family reconnect, confront early-onset midlife crises, & do so in the confines of a camper van as they travel across America under the shadow of the mighty Metallica on tour. A story that combines rock music, autism & dysfunctional families.
Stunners: A Severe Case Of Dating Fatigue
SERIES / dramatic COMEDY / MYSTERY
An aspiring music journalist is assigned to investigate a series of escalating revenge attacks by an angry & anonymous social media influencer.
Heaven has no rage, like love to hatred turned. Following flawed characters, as they stumble, charm & murder their way through the world of modern dating. Set against a backdrop of an uber-cool publisher & influencer culture. Inspired by the classic novel Venus In Furs, which explores masochism & manipulation, & by my time working at Vice magazine.
Battle Of The Breweries
SERIES / COMEDY / DRAMA
Estranged siblings who run competing craft breweries fight for superiority at the Battle of the Breweries beer festival, whilst courting the might of the tyrannical Imperial Brewers Alliance.
A comic look at the explosion of artisanal crafts & the people giving up their day jobs to pursue passion projects. A snapshot of gentrified East London & its colourful inhabitants. A feuding brother & sister from a broken family will do anything to follow in their acclaimed father’s footsteps.
Surveillance
SHORT FILM (& Feature WIP) CONTAINED THRILLER / SUSPENSE
A fatigued police surveillance officer questions his life choices when he becomes trapped in his van by the violent gang he’s watching.
A contained suspense fuelled thriller, exploring the pressures & impact such a high-pressure job has on mental health, the impact of cuts on police resources, bullying in the workplace, & police corruption. Where gang crime & terrorism crossover on the streets of London. Inspired by true events, a family member was that police officer. **Currently writing a feature version.**
Spectres
SERIES / THRILLER / HORROR / WORK IN PROGRESS
A homeless woman who’s barely clinging to life becomes an apprentice to a ghostly avenging spectre.
A dark thriller set in modern day London exploring homelessness, & the story of a Victorian spectre who still haunts the streets, avenging victims of violent crime.
One Thousand & One Movies
SHORT FILM / COMEDY / MAGICAL REALISM
A down on his luck man discovers a magical movie streamer that transports him into his favourite movies.
Mr Benn meets Quantum Leap. A comedy short film about a young down & out who discovers a mysterious movie streamer on his TV. When the channel host, an exuberant genie, gifts him 3 wishes the cynical viewer mutters “I wish I was in the movies, not struggling to choose one!” And so he finds himself taking on the attributes of characters from his favourite movies… & also finds the movies entering his world.
Fly Away VR
SHORT FILM / VIRTUAL REALITY / 360 VIDEO / DRAMA
An act of kindness from a stranger causes three lonely and isolated people’s spirits & bodies to soar, up into the sky.
To be viewed with a virtual reality (VR) headset. In first-person, we'll experience the sensation of being lost & alone in a busy city. A hand of kindness from a stranger raises our spirits, lifting us to our feet... but we keep on rising, lifting off the ground to the amazement of the strangers around us… until we're flying over their heads. Looking down on the faces looking up at us, before we fly away over the city.
The Monkey and the Jewel
FEATURE ANIMATION / FAMILY ADVENTURE / COMEDY
An 8-year-old orphan girl, a monkey & a stray dog embark on an epic journey of discovery from the beaches of Thailand to the furthest reaches of China in search of where they belong.
A quest story that follows an unlikely trio as they explore the natural wonders & dangers of the Eastern world. With themes of friendship, bravery, accepting people for their differences & an inspirational message of wildlife conservation. Loosely based on the Chinese epic novel Journey To The West. Script sample available.
Drive Hard
FEATURE / ACTION / COMEDY
When violent forces maraud across a golf course, it’s left to a ragtag team of green-keepers & an undercover police ‘problem solver’ to fight them off.
‘Die Hard’ meets ‘Caddyshack’. Set on a picturesque golf course, with a colourful cast of characters. Two violent factions invade the tranquillity of a golf course in the space of a day. In the middle, an undercover police ‘problem solver’ & a rough & ready team of green-keepers who watch far too many movies.
Frogmouth the Potoo
short animation / kids / COMEDY
The story of Frogmouth - a Potoo bird of the Amazon - a master of disguise, who just can’t fall asleep.
A children’s story about a little girl walking through the Amazon rainforest in her dreams, who meets a peculiar bird and some of his friends. Subtle conservation messaging and a love letter to the natural world. Written with a view to turning into a short animation and a young children’s book.