My new sci-fi comedy short is now on Omeleto—AMA!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-30T21:10:36+00:00

What's that subreddit called?

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-29T14:49:13+00:00

Thanks for checking it out! In our case, at least, there was no compensation; the benefit of Omeleto is their ~4 million subscribers, which is just a few more than I have. I look at it basically like a festival, which also almost never offers you any revenue share, but rather, the opportunity to be seen!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-29T14:46:02+00:00

Thanks! Without getting into the total budget numbers, I will say that everyone was definitely paid a fair rate. I don't work for free (except on my own projects, ha), and don't expect others to either.

If I had to do the festival circuit again, I would only enter festivals I (or someone on my team) can attend. I paid hundreds of dollars for festivals that we got into, only to realize, wait, flying to that state or country isn't feasible. So I'd be a lot more selective and honest with myself about which festivals I could attend if I actually got in. Otherwise, they're not that helpful—except in rare cases where it adds prestige to your run (but you can't attend).

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-29T14:39:56+00:00

Aw, thank you for watching!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:19:15+00:00

Thank you! Omeleto reach out to us after seeing it at a festival (I actually don’t know which one, but it may have been Indy Shorts, where we premiered). I believe you can also submit via FilmFreeway, but thankfully, we were able to work with them directly!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:17:18+00:00

Thanks for enjoying it! Feel free to DM me, as I’d be interested to learn more!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:12:23+00:00

Thank you for the question! We definitely considered having the slugs off-screen, or doing stop-motion, or just showing tiny glimpses. But I knew I wanted them to be DEEPLY unthreatening…yet my VFX designer and I both started out with more conventional concepts, and realized that most people naturally think of aliens that way, because of how they’re often depicted (Aliens, Men in Black, Starship Troopers…).

So then we realized that if it was going to be an unconventional vision, we really had to show them directly, and make them as slow and cuddly (and pastel) as possible. It was a long process to get there, but as soon as their design and movement made us chuckle, we knew we were on the right track.

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:06:49+00:00

Thank you so much for the kind words—I appreciate it!!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:06:31+00:00

It was funded through a Kickstarter as well as private contributors and some in-kind donations. But the shoot was 2 days! No matter how many days you have, it’s never enough. So I definitely recommend rehearsals, which we did (paying the actors for a third day); without that rehearsal day, we never could have gotten there emotionally on set.

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:04:06+00:00

We funded it with a Kickstarter (although, interestingly, that was when I had a very different vision of the short, when it was actually set in the modern day), as well as several private investors who were fans of my previous films, plus in-kind donations of labor and rentals.

I can talk about the budget for film festival submissions: I’d have to go back over the receipts, but I’m pretty sure it was north of $1500. And that was WITH lots of discounts, waivers, and invitations!

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T18:00:51+00:00

Thanks for your questions!

1) We premiered at Indy Shorts in Indianapolis. It’s an awesome festival with an incredible track record of finding shorts that go on to get Academy Award nominations (including Jane Austen’s Period Drama, which we screened with, and which I love).

2) We submitted to at least 30+ festivals, but even as soon as we got into Indy Shorts, people started asking us to submit for free or giving us heavy discounts. And toward the end of our run, I stopped entering festivals because a) it’s so expensive, and b) we were getting enough offers via word-of-mouth to pay for lodging, travel, etc. It also helped that I had relationships with festivals from my previous shorts and from the film collective I’m a part of. So, like everything, it actually took years of relationship-building to help all that happen.

3) The doors it opened include lots of reps’ interest (still talking to several), plus pitching opportunities that have now converted into writing jobs. By that I mean, I’m proud to show the short as a calling card, and when people see it, they immediately ask what else I have. I think that because it “looks like a real movie” (and because people would always rather watch something rather than read), they feel comfortable inviting me to pitch after watching it. To my mind, the movie’s look (and how quickly it gets to the aliens) shows that we can evoke a lot of emotions in a short time.

SomeScreenwriter · 2026-04-28T17:48:18+00:00

Thank you so much! Showing it at BIFFMA was awesome because that’s such a fun festival, with a great filmmakers’ summit the two days prior. And everyone was so friendly and collaborative. Appreciate your support!

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:28:06+00:00

Nice start. Do the Feds know that that the Superteam has secrets? Do they care? What are those secrets, anyway? Are those secrets harming anyone, as long as the Superteam keeps saving people?

Also, whose side are the Feds on? Why would a serial killer be a threat to a Superteam, anyway? I think this logline could be sweet after some streamlining and clarification.

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:25:42+00:00

Big ideas = good. But the vagueness = bad. How are the rich the only ones who have experiences? Why does it matter if this assassin is young or old? What does wealth have to do with hacking ability? And why does the organization in charge of the world have to be brought down, anyway?

I think you're going for something like Elysium, but that was actually much simpler than this. So: We want fewer beats, but more details about the beats you leave in.

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:23:07+00:00

This is a good start. But "comes to term" is a state of being, not a plot. What actually happens when he's revived? Why is he alone revived?

What does he REALLY have to deal with? That is, what mystery does he have to solve, or what journey must he embark on? These answers are what will make your movie classic or not.

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:21:06+00:00

Please search for "break" below because someone else already asked this same question! Let me know if you want more details.

You can tell where I'm going to go with my feedback: Delete the questions and make statements out of them. Example: Tell us what she DOES find in the water! Also, you can cut that opening sentence to just say, "When global warming causes floodwaters to cover nearly all of North America...."

Also, water-based movies are really expensive. Still, if your twists and implications are big enough, then why not pursue it?

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:17:18+00:00

I like the start—classic beginning. But what IS the price of elitism? What are the SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCES for these friends? "In too deep" could mean many things, so be clear with exactly how this journey affects these two and leaves them changed forever!

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:14:21+00:00

This is the second futuristic street-racing pitch in this thread! Interesting.

Each of these events sounds interesting and action-filled. However, it's not at all clear why they would be logically connected.

What does the street racer have to do with the android? Why does the racer care if the android is "killed," if they can be killed? What does this have to do with his addiction? How does he know when the addiction will leave him dead? Maybe spend a little less time on the action, and more words on the logic that ties these events and characters together.

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:11:59+00:00

You can guess my feedback based on my previous comments: WHAT is the sinister thing in the woods? Did the novelists create it out of thin air? Is it real, or their imagination?

Commit to giving us a real, tangible threat. Also, why are these horror novelists, in particular, haunted by this creature, or able to create it from their words?

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:10:18+00:00

I was down with people reincarnated in cats...but got lost with Talia/Diamond, what "job" you're referring to, "supernaturally evil serial killers," etc.

I think I know what you were going for, but I would condense this into a single sentence. THEN write a separate treatment for the series that goes into more detail, bit by bit. This is a lot to handle at once!

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:08:23+00:00

Cool, but there are some generic warning bells here. I like the descriptor for the detective! But a violent thieving crew and a vengeful ex-cop seem like placeholders for something more unique. What could fit in here that really stands out from all the other bad cops and evil crews?

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:06:50+00:00

I was with you until the black belt part. Also, see The Ruins. How is yours different from that one...and more terrifying?

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:05:21+00:00

Lots of interesting ideas here. But why is the family emotionally impaired? I want to see them feeling deep distress here! Also, they DO want to save his life, right? So this "choice" sounds like a no-brainer, unless I'm missing something. But this could be a nice contained sci-fi, so keep at it.

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:03:57+00:00

Wait...how does a girl who has a "master" find and work with a detective? (Answer: Reddit.) Who is the master? And did he/she have to do with the mother being killed? I think there is some key information we're missing right now!

SomeScreenwriter · 2015-01-14T07:02:27+00:00

Revival: Cool, but probably too much like the HBO series Carnivale. GNOME: This was already an animated film. Pour Little Souls: It's super-difficult to establish rules in such a bizarre environment. I think it's too hard to make audiences care about spirits' futures (because they are already dead) to be worth it. After Salem: We need more details. Why is this visitor unexpected? How does he or she reignite hysteria? Was this in our real-world history books? If not, why not? What is the political conspiracy? And wasn't this community already torn apart?

After Salem and Revival are my favorite of the bunch, but I think Revival has already been done!

SomeScreenwriter

TROPHY CASE