A young, successful lawyer is faced with a choice: risk losing everything that matters to him, or protect the man responsible for everything he’s achieved.
SECOND ASSIGNMENT: antagonist sketch.
As head of a notorious international organized criminal syndicate who despises the US, Cosimo Benedetto's reach extends from financing terrorists and the poppy fields they control in Iraq and Afghanistan, to a worldwide narcotics distribution network, to cyber attacks on government institutions and corporations, to a worldwide narcotics distribution ring, to brazen wall street stock manipulation schemes that cause billions in losses. But for all his immense wealth and unrivaled power, Cosimo's life is missing the one thing he wants to control the most: the son he's never met. For some 30 years, Cosimo has manipulated his son's life to guarantee his every success. Now it's time to see if his biggest investment will pay off. Putting the final touches on his master plan of manipulation and blackmail, one he's worked on for decades, Cosimo seeks to join forces with the son he's longed for in the hopes of saving himself and protecting the criminal empire he's built.
THIRD ASSIGNMENT: breakout title.
My Father's Son
Between Family and Honor
The Ragazzo
FOURTH ASSIGNMENT: comparables.?
Quasi legal thrillers, but not courtroom dramas, in the vein of John Grisham, and stories about the mafia an la cosa nostra, such as by Mario Puzo and Nicholas Pileggi.
FIFTH ASSIGNMENT: hook line.
After discovering secrets about his former law firm, those he loves and respects, and the father he never knew, Tom is faced with the uncertainty of a future that is controlled by his past, and he is forced to choose between family and honor.
SIXTH ASSIGNMENT: Secondary conflict.
It’s as if Tom had a guardian angel watching over him. Yet for all his achievements, there was one thing missing from his story-book life: the father he never met and always thought of. But if success followed Tom wherever he went, so too did doubts about whether he was worthy of all his achievements, including the Harvard law degree and his job as an associate in the world’s largest and most prestigious law firm.
When he is unexpectedly offered the No. 2 position at the Department of Justice, Tom thinks his string of good luck is continuing. After accepting the job and moving to Washington, DC with his wife, Elise, Tom is tasked with bringing to justice the head of an international criminal syndicate. While in charge of the investigation, Tom is framed for disclosing confidential information about about a former client. The plot threatens not only Tom's legal career, but could land him behind bars for decades. As the Feds close in on him, Tom discovers that the only person who can save him is the one person who's been missing from his life. Between investigating the syndicate and tracking down those trying to destroy him, Tom learns secrets about his former law firm, his family, and his past that will change his future forever. Confronted with the devastating truth, Tom is forced to choose between family and honor.
FINAL ASSIGNMENT: setting.
A courtroom in the Southern District of New York in lower Manhattan.
The palatial offices of a law firm in a modern skyscraper in New York City. Italian marble cover the floors, handcrafted walnut wood panels line the hallways and partner dining room, and crystal chandeliers hang in the reception area and conference center, all happily paid for by the firm's A-list clients who shell out well over a thousand dollars an hour for the privilege of retaining the best known and most successful lawyers the American justice system has to offer.
The Department of Justice building in Washington , DC and Tom and Elise's apartment also in Washington.
Various scenes take place in New York City, including in Penn Station, an opulent apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park, and a small Vietnamese restaurant on the upper eastside of Manhattan.
A rundown house in the poor section of Columbia Heights, Maryland, home to a down and out FBI agent who becomes easy prey and a pawn in Cosimo Benedetto's master plan.
Aboard the floating fortress, the Vulcania, a high-tech, gilded mega yacht that is home to Cosimo Benedetto, as it plies the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, sailing from Rhodes, Greece to Port Hercules, Monaco, and the Bay of Monte Carlo.
New York Pitch and Algonkian Pre-event Assignments - 2022
in New York Write to Pitch 2023 and 2024
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FIRST ASSIGNMENT: story statement.
A young, successful lawyer is faced with a choice: risk losing everything that matters to him, or protect the man responsible for everything he’s achieved.
SECOND ASSIGNMENT: antagonist sketch.
As head of a notorious international organized criminal syndicate who despises the US, Cosimo Benedetto's reach extends from financing terrorists and the poppy fields they control in Iraq and Afghanistan, to a worldwide narcotics distribution network, to cyber attacks on government institutions and corporations, to a worldwide narcotics distribution ring, to brazen wall street stock manipulation schemes that cause billions in losses. But for all his immense wealth and unrivaled power, Cosimo's life is missing the one thing he wants to control the most: the son he's never met. For some 30 years, Cosimo has manipulated his son's life to guarantee his every success. Now it's time to see if his biggest investment will pay off. Putting the final touches on his master plan of manipulation and blackmail, one he's worked on for decades, Cosimo seeks to join forces with the son he's longed for in the hopes of saving himself and protecting the criminal empire he's built.
THIRD ASSIGNMENT: breakout title.
My Father's Son
Between Family and Honor
The Ragazzo
FOURTH ASSIGNMENT: comparables.?
Quasi legal thrillers, but not courtroom dramas, in the vein of John Grisham, and stories about the mafia an la cosa nostra, such as by Mario Puzo and Nicholas Pileggi.
FIFTH ASSIGNMENT: hook line.
After discovering secrets about his former law firm, those he loves and respects, and the father he never knew, Tom is faced with the uncertainty of a future that is controlled by his past, and he is forced to choose between family and honor.
SIXTH ASSIGNMENT: Secondary conflict.
It’s as if Tom had a guardian angel watching over him. Yet for all his achievements, there was one thing missing from his story-book life: the father he never met and always thought of. But if success followed Tom wherever he went, so too did doubts about whether he was worthy of all his achievements, including the Harvard law degree and his job as an associate in the world’s largest and most prestigious law firm.
When he is unexpectedly offered the No. 2 position at the Department of Justice, Tom thinks his string of good luck is continuing. After accepting the job and moving to Washington, DC with his wife, Elise, Tom is tasked with bringing to justice the head of an international criminal syndicate. While in charge of the investigation, Tom is framed for disclosing confidential information about about a former client. The plot threatens not only Tom's legal career, but could land him behind bars for decades. As the Feds close in on him, Tom discovers that the only person who can save him is the one person who's been missing from his life. Between investigating the syndicate and tracking down those trying to destroy him, Tom learns secrets about his former law firm, his family, and his past that will change his future forever. Confronted with the devastating truth, Tom is forced to choose between family and honor.
FINAL ASSIGNMENT: setting.
A courtroom in the Southern District of New York in lower Manhattan.
The palatial offices of a law firm in a modern skyscraper in New York City. Italian marble cover the floors, handcrafted walnut wood panels line the hallways and partner dining room, and crystal chandeliers hang in the reception area and conference center, all happily paid for by the firm's A-list clients who shell out well over a thousand dollars an hour for the privilege of retaining the best known and most successful lawyers the American justice system has to offer.
The Department of Justice building in Washington , DC and Tom and Elise's apartment also in Washington.
Various scenes take place in New York City, including in Penn Station, an opulent apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park, and a small Vietnamese restaurant on the upper eastside of Manhattan.
A rundown house in the poor section of Columbia Heights, Maryland, home to a down and out FBI agent who becomes easy prey and a pawn in Cosimo Benedetto's master plan.
Aboard the floating fortress, the Vulcania, a high-tech, gilded mega yacht that is home to Cosimo Benedetto, as it plies the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, sailing from Rhodes, Greece to Port Hercules, Monaco, and the Bay of Monte Carlo.
The Oval Office, The White House, Washington, DC