Private Project

Imogen, Daughter of Cymbeline

A princess, falsely accused of infidelity and condemned to death, escapes disguised as a page and journeys across country to exonerate herself, unaware she is being pursued by her loathsome step-brother who plans to rape her and kill her husband.

Set in 10 CE, Britain, the story begins when a king’s daughter goes against her father’s wishes and marries a lowborn instead of her oafish step-brother. The angry king banishes the husband so the marriage can be annulled.

In Rome the husband gets drawn into a heated discussion in defence of her honour and accepts a wager made against her fidelity.

Shown false proof by the cheat, the despairing husband sends orders to his servant to murder the princess for being unfaithful.

The servant, knowing her innocence, provides a disguise for her to masquerade as a boy page and travel to Wales where she can hitch a ride to Rome.

Meanwhile the step-oaf forces the servant to reveal Imogen’s destination and he races after her, determined to ravage and humiliate her, then drag her back to court.

What none of them count on is that actions taken years previously interfere with their plans.

Like a Roman invasion force attacking Milford Haven.

  • J Aldric Gaudet
    Writer
    Pit & Pendulum / Baltic Storm / Error-2000 / The Hijacking of Studio 4 / The Commando Game / The Littlest Hobo
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    136
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Adapted Story Showcase

    November 30, 2022
    Selected
  • San Francisco International Screenwriting Competition
    San Francisco
    December 8, 2022
    Quarter Finalist
  • The Shepperton Screenwriting Festival
    Shepperton, United Kingdom
    December 30, 2022
    Selected
Writer Biography - J Aldric Gaudet

Film Freeway

My professional writing credits include TV Documentaries, “Struggle Beneath the Sea,” and Episodic Dramas, “The Littlest Hobo.”

“Baltic Storm” a FF came from a producer’s outline based upon real events. Released 2003.

“Anatomy of a Hijacking” a FF suspense thriller commissioned to be based on eyewitness accounts. In development.

“Error-2000" was a TVM rewrite polish. Aired 1999.

My screenplay, "The Hijacking of Studio 4," was a TVM produced by a Canadian producer who would make Roger Corman blush. I got to direct it, but first I had to produce and direct another TVMovie with less than a shoestring budget and a screenplay that needed work. That was released as “Deadly Pursuit” aka “The Commando Game.”

I thrive when working with other creatives whether on my projects or theirs.

PROJECTS

“The Piper,” a darkly twisted re-rendering of the Pied Piper legend set in a post-apocalyptic world struggling back to its feet without electricity or machines: The Future Past.
A graphic novel version has been published.

“5 Fables for the Young at Heart.” I write prose versions of my favourite fantasy screenplays. They were published in this collection.

“Madmen Have No Ears”
“Imogen”
“Not To Be”

I took 3 Shakespeare plays and published prose interpretations with updated language.

“Incident on Highway 7"

A satirical thriller. A lighthearted tribute to that last gasp of innocence in Southern Ontario during the summer of ‘74, full of memorable characters.

MEDIA LITERACY

The more one understands how media is used to manipulate emotions, the less one is vulnerable to corporate propaganda.

I taught screenwriting and the filmmaking process through courses for McMaster University and the Factory Media Centre.

My award winning short “Pit & Pendulum” was an experiment of technique. Using Poe’s words to stimulate the viewer’s imagination around the minimalistic images seen on screen. Its simplicity demonstrated the power of cinema at its most basic.

I create the kind of stories I like to see. Enlightened entertainment.
I create in Hamilton, Ontario, the perfect film location.
Gaudet is Latin for “be happy.”

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Writer Statement

My writing strengths lie in assessing and remoulding other people’s screen projects into the best version achievable within their budget.

Having done so on 2 other Features (flop / development hell) I puzzled over how to demonstrate these skills without referring to screenplays I have no rights to. How can I show what can be done to adjust and rework a story idea, an outline, or a script for the screen, how it can be opened up to a wider audience while respecting the original material.

The how is Shakespeare.

That name elicits groans or grins, but never silence.