My Dusty El Camino
In order to save his job, save his relationship with his brother, and win the girl he just met (whose name he doesn’t even know), an irresponsible, thirty-year-old juvenile slacker (who hates country music) must drive his brother’s ‘73 Chevy El Camino across the country in six days (a car that only plays country music).
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John HughesWriter
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Project Type:Screenplay
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Number of Pages:105
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Country of Origin:United States
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Language:English
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First-time Screenwriter:Yes
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Student Project:No
First of all, I'm not THAT John Hughes (obviously). And, unfortunately, we are not related. :-/ I do hope I still somehow inherited his talent for writing screenplays.
I have been writing most of my adult life, though usually just for myself. I am a published author (three books - two business books and one novel). I wrote and published my first book ten years ago, and the novel just a year ago (Let Go the Reins).
I have a technology background, including at the executive level. I now run my own executive recruiting business, placing technology leaders in the Seattle and Portland areas.
My wife and I live on a small 2.5 acre farm in Ridgefield, WA, which is just a few miles north of Portland, OR. We are empty-nesters, so more time to write!
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This was my first screenplay attempt. (I used StudioBinder for the formatting.) I truly love the screenplay format. It fits me perfectly, even better than novels. The action and characters and dialogue appear in my head as a movie. I simply write down what I hear and see.
Writing "My Dusty El Camino" was so enjoyable. The storyline and characters and dialogue and action flowed easily. The title came to me in a dream, and the story flowed once I started writing. This is an ode to country music, using classic songs to help carry and amplify the story.
(There are a lot of songs in the script, but most are intended to be heard for only a minute or so, or be in the background. The website URL I provided is a YouTube playlist of the songs used, and they are in order of use.)
As soon as I read Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat", I immediately began working on the log line and beats for My Dusty El Camino. I created my "board" on our bedroom wall and filled it up. Very fun and a significant time saver!
I am most looking forward to feedback on this screenplay (the 50 questions), to see how it might be improved. And I have a lot to learn yet, so I'm ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Thank you for holding this contest!
John D. Hughes