Script File

Hal, The Spud King of Japan

Three high school friends take on a powerful businessman to change the agricultural market and save their family's farm.

  • John Thibault
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    100
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Austin Revolution Film Festival
    Austin, TX
    August 23, 2016
    Semifinalist
  • Die Laughing Film Festival
    Hollywood, CA
    May 12, 2017
    Finalist
  • Hollywood Screenplay Contest
    Hollywood, CA
    October 23, 2017
    Official Finalist
  • 15th Annual Filmmakers International Screenwriting Awards
    Hollywood, CA
    April 11, 2017
    Semifinalist
  • Shore Scripts Festival
    Santa Monica, CA
    October 25, 2017
    Quarterfinalist
  • WeScreenplay
    Beverly Hills, CA
    January 24, 2019
    Quarterfinalist
  • Cinequest Screenwriting Competition
    San Jose, CA
    December 18, 2015
    Round Two Top 100 Features
  • Script Summit
    Royal Oak, MI
    February 6, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Toronto Comedy Film & Screenplay Festival
    Toronto
    March 17, 2020
    Semifinalist
  • Houston Comedy Film Festival
    Houston TX
    March 29, 2020
    Finalist, Best Feature Length Comedy Screenplay
Writer Biography - John Thibault

John Thibault is the author of “Deadly Serious,” and the unpublished novel, “Ghost Town.” He wrote non-fiction books, “Sway,” and “How to Change a Law,” a 2017 Reader's Favorite Gold Medal Winner, and a Finalist in the 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Book Awards.

His screenplays have placed well in the following contests:

Hal The Spud King Of Japan
• Award winner, Best Feature Length Comedy Screenplay, Houston Comedy Film Festival, 2020
• Award winner, Best Feature Length Comedy Screenplay,  Austin Comedy Film Festival, 2020
• Finalist, Die Laughing Film Festival Hollywood, 2017
• Official Finalist, Hollywood Screenplay Contest, 2017
• Semifinalist, Austin Revolution Film Festival, 2016
• Semifinalist, Utah Film Festival, 2020
• Semifinalist, Scriptation Showcase, 2020
• Semifinalist, Toronto Comedy Film & Screenplay Festival, 2020
• Semifinalist, Edinburgh Screenwriting Competition , 2020
• Semifinalist, 15th Annual Filmmakers International Screenwriting Awards, 2017
• Quarterfinalist, Austin Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, 21st Annual Fade In Comedy Awards, 2017
• Quarterfinalist, Shore Scripts Festival, 2017
• Quarterfinalist, WeScreenplay, 2019
• Round Two Top 100 Features, Cinequest Screenwriting Competition, 2015
• Official Selection, Script Summit, 2020
• Official Selection, Houston Comedy Film Festival, 2020
• Official Selection, Austin Comedy Short Film Festival, 2020
• Official Selection, Beverly Hills Film Festival, 2020
• Official Screenplay Selection, Portland Comedy Film Festival Summer, 2020

Crash Site
• Top 20%, Academy Nicholl Fellowship, 2017
• Award Winner, 52 Weeks Film Festival, 2020
• Finalist, Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship, 2020
• Finalist, Rocky Mountain International Film Festival, 2020
• Semifinalist, Austin Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Semifinalist, Scriptation Showcase, 2020
• Semifinalist, TRMS Park City, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Stage 32 Feature Drama Screenwriting Contest, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Official Selection, Finish Line Script Competition, 2019
• Official Selection, Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting Festival , 2020

Abduction (Body Count)
• Finalist, New York Short Film And Screenplay Competition, 2017
• Semifinalist, Fade in Sci-Fi Awards, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Austin Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, 24th Annual Fade In Sci-fi Awards, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Screen Craft Sci-Fi Screenwriting Competition, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Official Selection, Pasadena International Film Festival, 2017

Final Appeal
• Finalist, SWN Screenplay  Competition, 2020
• Semifinalist, Tirota/Finish Line Social Impact Script Competition, 2020
• Semifinalist, SWN Screenplay  Competition, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, SWN Screenplay  Competition, 2020
• Official Selection, Script Summit Screenplay Contest, 2020
• Second Rounder, Austin Film Festival Script Competition, 2020

Red Ink On Steel
• Semifinalist, Filmmatic Comedy Screenplay Festival, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Scriptation Showcase Script Competition, 2020
• Official Selection, Finish Line Script Competition, 2019
• Official Selection, Atlanta Comedy Film Festival, 2017

Healing Time
• Award Winner, WRPN.tv Screenplay Competition, 2020
• Semifinalist, Wiki Sci-Fi Awards, 2020
• Quarterfinalist, Austin Screenplay Awards, 2020
• Official Selection, Sci-Fi & Fantasy: Genre Lab - Lift-Off Global Network, 2020

Warm Body
• Top 18%, Finish Line Script Competition, 2019

I have written 21 screenplays, three novels and four non-fiction books. I previously worked at MCA/Universal and other studios as a consultant and story analyst. I have a Bachelor's degree from Ryerson University and a MFA from UCLA film school.

I also studied under UCLA's Richard Walter, and Danny Simon, Robert McKee, John Truby's Writer's Workshop, Writers' BootCamp, and at the NBC Comedy Writers Workshop.

I live in Northern California with my wife, three children and several pets.

Add Writer Biography
Writer Statement

I was inspired by the comedic work of Preston Sturges, then Frank Capra, Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock, and Steven Spielberg. I loved the idea of taking what might seem like a complex topic and arena and humanizing it.

So the idea of a crazy and cocky business guy taking on the Japanese with an outlandish idea seemed to fit right in. It was a fine line walking between realism and outright ridiculous stuff, but it was fun anyway.