NOTE:  All plots, story-lines, characters, events, etc., are copyright-protected and registered with the WGA West.

SYNOPSIS:

JOE "TUFFY" TOFURI is a retired G.I., a semi-retired hard-nosed private detective, and author of four unsuccessful published books.  Bored with writing novels he decides to attempt the art of screenwriting.  Joe conducts extensive research on the “How-Tos” of developing and writing screenplays and discovers an important screenplay component called “Action Lines”.  Joe agonizes so much over writing them that he awakens, screaming in the night.  To help him relieve the pressures of writing these action lines, he concocts an imaginary muse who happens to be a character from his last novel… and a drunk.

His lovely wife SANDRA has faith in Joe's writing abilities, but is deeply concerned with his medical problems.  He suffers terribly each day from debilitating arthritis, and there are times when he has difficulty walking.  Which, of course, limits his abilities to conduct field work as a P.I..  However, Joe continues to receive phone calls from lawyers requesting his services but each and every time, he reluctantly turns them away.  And although Sandra has a good job, and Joe receives his monthly military retirement check, they barely survive financially from pay-day to pay-day.

Joe happens upon a new web-site for screenwriters called SCRIPTPLACEMENT.COM. And in order to place scripts on the web-site, a “logline” and “synopsis” for each script must be written.  He has no idea what a logline is but soon discovers it’s an additional means of torturing him.  Loglines create more unrelenting mayhem in his life, and propel him deep into what he refers to as screenwriter’s hell.

Joe loses sleep over all that it takes to write action lines and loglines, and turns to JACK’S, his favorite watering hole, as an outlet for himself.  His drinking pals, especially ANGEL PEREZ who absolutely destroys the English language, provide a great deal of psychological relief for him.  But as soon as Joe returns to his computer keyboard, action lines and loglines begin to immediately torment him.

He struggles desperately to finally put together two scripts, including the dreaded loglines, and places them on the new web-site.  Unfortunately, Joe comes to realize that although his loglines receive hits from Industry Professionals, they never move to his synopsis and scripts.

Meanwhile, all is not well at Sandra’s workplace when she discovers job cutbacks are inevitable.  While Joe bangs away at his computer keyboard forever agonizing over rewriting action lines and loglines, Sandra is deeply concerned about her job security.  Surprisingly, the day arrives when at the precise moment Sandra is discovering if her job is secure, Joe is on his phone speaking with an Industry Professional interested in one of his scripts.  But the man not only desires to incorporate massive story changes that Joe absolutely despises, he also offers him money for the option rights.

Tormented Joe labors over making the decision of his life weighing his integrity and the offer of money against the possibilities of Sandra losing her job.  Slowly but most certainly, Joe is plunging deeper and deeper into his own screenwriter’s hell.