DARLENNE SUSAN GIRARD is a freelance screenwriter, script ghost, and published author. Enigmatic and publicity shy, she is not so much mysterious as intensely private, preferring the solitude and seclusion of the Pacific Northwest over the sparkle and lure of Hollywood and New York. Having spent most of her career as a script ghost, she is only now beginning to release projects written under her own name.
GENRES:
drama
family adventure
fantasy
horror
thriller
science fiction
young adult
LIST OF AVAILABLE FEATURE LENGTH SCREENPLAYS, COMPLETE LIMITED SERIES & SERIES PILOTS:
FREEFALLING
FORMAT: limited series - 8 x 1 hour episodes
GENRE: drama
LOGLINE: A 14 year old runaway caught up in a world of drugs, prostitution, and violence; living on the street, learning to survive, and not really caring if you don’t.
STORY: Powerful, poignant, sensitive, and sometimes overwhelming, FREEFALLING is a two and a half year journey that begins with the loss of innocence, and ends with the death of a young girl in a skid row hotel room. And the story of everything that happens in between is FREEFALLING
BITCHES
FORMAT: feature length screenplay / series pilot
GENRE: drama / satire
LOGLINE: A click of upscale narcissistic women play a strategic game of one-upmanship, sex and money.
STORY: Five stunning women form their own official wives club: Hailey Houghton, Amanda Stone, Melanie Stone, Kristy Martinez, and the newcomer, Paige Lindbrooke. Uneasy friends, cunning rivals, and ruthless competitors, find themselves at the whim and sexual mercy of a charismatic gossip columnist Dillon Capelli. Part mentor, part tormentor, but ever the manipulator; the women he controls are mere trophies, willing to do anything in an attempt to vie for his attention.
ABOUT: A tawdry tale of deceit, lies, lust, greed, and of course murder.
BEAUTIFUL ISLAND
FORMAT: feature length screenplay / series pilot
GENRE: noir detective / thriller / drama
LOGLINE: A crime boss's daughter fakes her own murder in an attempt to take over the family business.
STORY: John O’Connell a Private Investigator is hired by a mysterious Mr Yellow to investigate the murder of a local Betel Nut Girl. But all is not what it appears to be. In fact, she is the daughter of Black Cat Lin, drug lord kingpin of North City, and Winter Bloom is very much alive. O’Connell teams up with a beautiful police detective, Ms Willow, to bring Winter Bloom and her father to justice for the murder of the Betel Nut Girl. Double cross leads to double cross. Alliances shift with the tide. And a foiled attempt to take over the family business, leads to the ultimate act of betrayal.
ABOUT: A classic noir detective story set in Asia.
624 SQUADRON
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: historical / drama
LOGLINE: Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities; because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
STORY: 624 SQUADRON is a WWII drama that chronicles the ill fated crew of a RAF Bomber Command squadron, whose responsibility was to give air support and transport to British Special Operations behind enemy lines deep in Nazi occupied Southern France - and a clandestine band of French resistance fighters and saboteurs, whose mission was to hold back a battle hardened German military from sending reinforcements to the beaches of Normandy, in the summer of 1944.
PRINCIPLE OF UNCERTAINTY
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: psychological / sci-fi / thriller
LOGLINE: A medical doctor and a quantum physicist's paths are intertwined in a cross dimensional quest to stop a wormhole from tearing each other's world apart.
STORY: PRINCIPLE OF UNCERTAINTY is a thought-provoking original story full of intriguing scientific concepts, deep philosophical notions and stirring human moments.
THE GARDEN
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: crime / thriller
LOGLINE: A comatose little girl, a victim of a convicted serial child killer, seeks vengeance on her victimizer who still haunts her dreams.
STORY: In a twist on reality, an FBI agent specializing in child abductions searches for a killer while her life is in an endless torment by the images of a reoccurring nightmare. Soon the young comatose child and the FBI agent’s nightmares merge, and the illusion of reality becomes intertwined within the dreams of a serial child killer.
CRAVE
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: horror / thriller
LOGLINE: A vampire story, sans vampires.
STORY: Two best friends caught up in a bizarre underground world which feeds on desire, and lives on lust. Fueled by a highly addictive drug that causes the user to become sexually aroused as part of the high, and the people they make love to, become uncontrollably addicted to them. One needs the drug, the other craves the exchange of bodily fluid much like a vampire needs blood. But too much of anything, can have deadly results.
HAUNTING OF SAVANNAH
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: horror / thriller
LOGLINE: A history of murder, ghosts and intrigue surround a mansion in old Savannah, Georgia, in this supernatural rendition of a classic ghost story.
STORY: A father and college age daughter discover the truth to the saying, Savannah is the most haunted place in America. Having inherited an old home, they must face the upheavals in their lives caused by sudden wealth while finding themselves tormented by the many ghosts haunting their home, intent on driving them insane. In a race against time the father and daughter must unravel a frightening mystery surrounding the house that suggests a legacy of murder, rape and deceit.
ABOUT: The HAUNTING OF SAVANNAH is a story that builds on the quaint and heart-warming landscape of Savannah, Georgia while building an intense and terrifying ghost story and supernatural horror.
THE LEGEND OF ZAKARABBITS
FORMAT: feature length screenplay / series pilot
GENRE: animation / family
LOGLINE: Decades after music was banned, a group of kids stumble upon a long lost map leading to a secret cave, where they discover a hidden treasure of musical instruments.
STORY: A sleepy seaside resort becomes the place of rebirth for rock ‘n’ roll, when a group of local kids discover a map leading to a secret cave and a hidden treasure trove of musical instruments. Soon they learn how to play and form a band to raise money to save their tiny beachside community from being destroyed to make way for a big city condo development. But on the eve of their first concert, their musical instruments are stolen by an arch villain bent on ridding the world of music forever.
ROADKILL
FORMAT: short film script (12 pages)
GENRE: fantasy drama satire
LOGLINE: Somewhere between the edge of a busy freeway and the great void beyond, is a place called the Roadkill Cafe.
STORY: More here than hereafter, it is the last rest stop where all God’s creatures, now souls, gather and await their final departure. It is here at the side of the road, where a salesman stops to change a tire. But when the dust clears, he unknowingly finds himself at the ROADKILL CAFE. Funny, dramatic, witty and a little bit quirky, ROADKILL CAFE is a journey to the other side, where reality is not exactly what it seems, and neither are the patrons. And wherever he thought his last sales trip would take him, he never imagined he would end up here at the ROADKILL CAFE.
ABOUT: Inspired by the satirical works of Aldous Huxley and Edward Albee.
O.B
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: sci-fi / coming of age / family adventure
LOGLINE: Sometimes it's hard to tell the aliens from your own family.
STORY: Dawn knows there is something strange about her family; something more than just her parents being weird. And if they were aliens, what were they doing here on earth? But nothing could prepare her for what happens when the real aliens arrive, and the future of planet earth lies in the hands of two young girls.
ABOUT: O.B is about lifelong friendships, finding out that you are different, and learning that in life there are always hard decisions that have to be made. And choosing who will stay and who will go will be the hardest choice of all.
FUNK & ANGEL
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: fantasy / police drama
LOGLINE: A young woman killed by a stray bullet from a 'drive-by' gone bad, comes back as an Angel to help find the people that murdered her.
STORY: To homicide detective John Funk, she is not just another case. Soon it becomes apparent that this seemingly random act of violence is directly connected to the world of underground drug trafficking. Having recently lost his wife and daughter in a similar shooting, the case begins to take on a personal meaning when Funk discovers that both cases are directly tied to each other. And it is only through the love of an Angel, willing to give up her immortal soul to save his.
ABOUT: FUNK & ANGEL is a story about colliding cultures, and the belief in collective souls, collective hearts, with a collective destiny.
SONG OF GRACE
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: family adventure / coming of age
LOGLINE: A SONG OF GRACE is a coming of age story set against the spectacular rugged coast of the Pacific Northwest, and a young girl's chance encounter with a killer whale.
STORY: What begins as a tranquil whale watching tour turns into an unexpected fight for life, after a clandestine encounter with a research vessel hunting whales. Their only hope lies with a young girl, coming to terms with the recent loss of her mother, and her almost spiritual connection with an orphaned killer whale. A poignant, heartfelt and moving story of universal drama, socially and environmentally relevant; a SONG OF GRACE is a wonderful family oriented journey of discovery.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: thriller / drama
LOGLINE: The lives of a politician and the mother of a death-row inmate collide in the days before the killer’s scheduled execution.
STORY: The Lieutenant Governor and his wife are shot and killed by a hooded youth, Avery Bledsoe, in an underground parking garage, during an attempted robbery, following a gala fundraising event. Six years later the Governor signs a document setting Avery’s date of execution. Avery’s mother requests a meeting with the now Governor in a last ditch effort to plead for her son’s life. Against all advice he agrees, only to discover she is an old girlfriend claiming Avery Bledsoe is their illegitimate son. Now the Governor must decide whether to spare the life of a convicted murderer, a son he never knew he had, or the promise he made to the victim’s family.
STRAYLITE
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: musical / satire
LOGLINE: Song and dance performers deal with their own mortality on the last night, of the last performance, on the last day before the end of the world.
STORY: It’s New Year’s Eve and the world waits to see if the unspeakable will happen - the end of the world. Inside the STRAYLITE, the performers’ battle with fear, regret, love and lust - mirrored in plentiful song and dance routines - while trying to make this final show the best of their lives. And when the news finally comes and the bombs are in the air, the slogan “the show must go on” takes on a whole new meaning.
LAST CHANCE
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: thriller / drama
LOGLINE: A car wreck closes a highway and six travellers find themselves at a mystical café unaware they are living parallel lives.
STORY: Love and redemption becomes the focal point of six people flung together by fate at an isolated and mystical café in the middle of nowhere. Learning about each other, time begins splintering - creating multiple futures that begin intersecting with each other. Hurdling toward a dangerous climax, each person must face their own secrets and fears as they are led down a path to their LAST CHANCE at redemption.
PRETTY LITTLE DEAD THINGS
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: thriller
LOGLINE: Anne and Michelle promise to be best friends forever; and not even death will keep them apart.
STORY: Time took them from each other, and now ten years later, they have found each other again. Anne coerces Michelle into a sordid affair which brings turmoil into Michelle’s already rocky life. But then a series of bizarre events begin to unfold which lead Michelle down a terrifying path to the truth about her girlfriend’s past.
ABOUT: PRETTY LITTLE DEAD THINGS is an erotic thriller told intelligently and artfully in the style of Adrian Lynne and Ken Russell. A modern day ghost story.
JUS IN BELLO (The Law Of War)
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: action / suspense / thriller
LOGLINE: Terrorists pose as D.C. firemen to gain access to the White House and kidnap the President and his family.
STORY: A small group of well-armed, well-trained terrorists gain access to the White House during the President’s daughter’s birthday gala, taking everyone hostage. It is up to Frank Tolliver, Head of White House Security to bring the situation under control. But things become more complicated when it is discovered a bug has been planted in the White House security system effecting both surveillance and communication. Worse yet, it turns out to be an inside job orchestrated by someone close to the President, and everyone including the terrorists are merely pawns.
THE LEGEND OF BILLY BIRD
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: sports drama
LOGLINE: A young football star leaves his home to become a hero, only to fall from grace, and return a stranger.
STORY: When washed up NFL quarterback Billy Bird goes home to Arkansas, his former high school coach gives him a second chance at life, by offering him the job of running the school football team. But no matter how hard they try the team continues to lose. Billy must make the hard choice of replacing their star quarterback with a young up and comer. Soon the team is on a winning streak, and the championship seems within reach, but only if Billy can convince arch rivals they must work together, will the team have a fighting chance to win the state championship.
ABOUT: LEGEND OF BILLY BIRD is a story about a man searching for all the things he lost only to discover that the true measure of a man lies in all the things he has still left to give.
NIGHTZONE
FORMAT: feature length screenplay
GENRE: thriller
LOGLINE: A young runaway finds life on the street more than just survival when she is taken under the wing by a streetwise creature of the night.
STORY: Scared, desperate and alone, Pinky as she is crimsoned, must learn to survive life on the street filled with violence, johns, and vampires. Taken under her wing by a streetwise creature of the night, who is in fact a creature of the night, Pinky quickly learns that life on the street is not what it appears to be. It is an underworld where johns and vampires co-exist, exchanging money for sex, and sex for blood. And what seemed like a game at the time, ends up deadly, in the NIGHTZONE.
