Lady S
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Logline: Adapted from Jane Austen’s novel “Lady Susan”. Desperate to stay ahead of her creditors without marrying for money, beautiful Lady S deceives and beguiles her grown daughter, her family, and a wide range of men, ’til passion for an unsuitable lover overcomes her calculations, exposing her to the vengeful hypocrisy of 18th century high society.
Synopsis: Pretty, recently-widowed Lady S has problems: huge debts, a troublesome teenage daughter, and a very bad reputation. Plus, the clock’s ticking ... she’s almost thirty-six! In 18th century England, wedding some rich old man should be her ticket out, but — been there, done that — she really doesn’t want to, especially once she hooks up with sexy, penniless, married Manwaring.
What to do? Lady S tries to get by on wit and charm, ‘singing for her supper’ as permanent house guest of the rich and famous, but though she’s a model of discretion, every time it’s the same story: the men get horny, the women get jealous... and Lady S gets the boot.
All she wants are the freedoms men enjoy, but she’s definitely not a guy, and the double standard rules. Sense and sensuality clash as she struggles — to educate her daughter Frederica in the harsh ways of the world, to repel marriage proposals from snobs and dolts without losing the roof currently over her head, and to keep her wayward passion for Manwaring properly hidden — but, as her feelings grow, so do the risks she takes to be with her lover.
At last a reckless choice puts Lady S at the mercy of the hypocrites who govern her world; yet even when she’s driven from Society, forced to wed a gormless marquis (whose IQ is even smaller than his waistline), and banished from England, her dignity never falters. In a final ironic twist, her daughter, despite poverty, dreaminess, and (in her mother’s view, at least) a shocking lack of self-control, ends up gaining the love match that Lady S cannot achieve for herself.
Bio: Michele Adams has an across-the-spectrum interest in writing. She has scripted three feature screenplays — Lady S (adapted from Jane Austen's first novel Lady Susan), Sex Lives of the Saints, and The Kindest Thing — and is currently at work on two more. Her screenwriting has received development and support from Harold Greenberg, Movie Central, Telefilm, Manitoba Film and Sound. One of her short scripts won the first Praxis Out-of-the-Hat contest; another won the CBC/BC Film Signature Shorts competition. She also freelances as copywriter/editor, has worked for CBC Radio as a writer/broadcaster, and recently co-authored a commissioned radio drama, Year of the Crab, for the Mother Corp. Her stories have been published (Geist, The Fiddlehead, Event, Canadian Fiction), dramatized on CBC Radio, and performed at arts festivals (Banff, Harrison, etc.). In 2006 she won The Fiddlehead fiction prize and in 2008 she was one of the winners of the BC Federation of Writers short story competition; her novel Grim Sausages was short-listed for the Metcalf-Rooke Award, and her collection Bright Objects of Desire was recently published by Biblioasis. In addition to writing, Michele has an ongoing commitment to teaching; she has taught Literature, Communications, Creative Writing, and Screenwriting at UBC, VCC, OLA, VFS, and SFU. She is also a script analyst for Praxis and is on the Harold Greenberg Fund, Praxis, and Telefilm lists of story editors.
MICHELE ADAMS, Writer
1149 Lily Street
Vancouver, BC V5L 4H5
(604) 253-5828
madams@shaw.ca
Agent: Dacia Moss
Lucas Talent
(604) 685-0345
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Looking For Lewis
Genre(s): Drama
Logline:
Part mystery, part coming-of-age, Looking For Lewis is the engaging story of Daniel, a Native American whose search for his missing uncle leads him to find himself.
Synopsis:
Lewis Keeper has vanished like smoke. He came to Winnipeg from Little Grand Rapids reservation three weeks ago and then disappeared. Lewis' nephew, twenty-one year old Daniel Keeper, plasters the city with Missing Persons flyers.
That night Daniel meets Simon, a queer skater-kid. An unexpected awakening occurs for Daniel and a romance is sparked. Daniel's cousin Frank discovers Daniel's new love interest and makes it his business to straighten him out.
The conflict between the cousins quickly escalates. Finally, one stormy summer night, a violent confrontation ensues that leads them to the truth about Uncle Lewis and ultimately, themselves.
Author Info:
MICHAEL SEAN KAMINSKY is a writer/director involved in both film and new media. Since graduating from the University of British Columbia, he has completed four feature film scripts and an off-Broadway play The Late Edition, which he co-wrote and performed in. He recently completed production on his documentary Ritual Nation and is working on his fifth screenplay. Kin (re-titled Looking For Lewis after a major revision) was part of the Praxis Fall 1995 Workshop, where Sean worked with producer Christine Vachon (Safe, I Shot Andy Warhol
) SEAN KAMINSKY, Writer
28 West 46th Street, #3F
New York, NY 10036
kaminsky@usa.com
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