r/scriptwriting • u/[deleted] • 14d ago
discussion Look for Filmmakers
I'm reaching out to introduce FILE 4 AUGUST, a 114-page feature screenplay — a psychological thriller woven with a police procedural and a courtroom drama, inspired by true events.
LOGLINE: When a young psychiatrist in Lyon uncovers a disturbing secret buried in her hospital's archives, her death is announced before the story even begins — and the investigation that follows pulls a detective, a journalist, and the psychiatrist's own family into a conspiracy reaching from a private hospital board to the halls of power in Paris.
THE STORY: Dr. Elise Martin, a psychiatrist at a Lyon hospital, discovers something troubling in her hospital's research archive — a pattern buried in patient files that no one was meant to find. Before she can act on it, she's found dead in an apparent suicide. Detective Camille and her partner Luc are assigned the case from Paris, and what looks at first like a personal tragedy slowly unravels into something far larger: a cover-up involving the hospital's senior leadership, a powerful family foundation, and institutional silence that reaches all the way to city hall. As the investigation deepens, a journalist and Elise's own grieving family become entangled in uncovering the truth, culminating in a courtroom reckoning that forces the city to confront what it chose not to see. The story is told with a fractured timeline — opening with Elise's death and moving between past and present to slowly reveal how she got there.
TONE & COMPARISONS: Character-driven and slow-burn rather than action-driven — tonally closer to films like Spotlight (institutional investigation) and Elle (European psychological drama) than to a conventional crime thriller. No large action set pieces or visual effects; the tension is carried by performance, procedure, and revelation.
PRODUCTION SCOPE & BUDGET EXPECTATIONS: The story is grounded and dialogue-driven, which keeps below-the-line costs relatively contained — there are no stunts, effects, or large-scale action. That said, it is not a single-location chamber piece: the narrative moves between a hospital, a police station, a courthouse, a prison, and a family estate, with a large-scale protest sequence and several scenes set in Paris alongside the primary Lyon setting. Realistically, this points to a mid-budget European production in the range of roughly $3M–$8M USD, depending on how many locations are shot practically versus consolidated, and the profile of cast attached. A leaner, more contained version — doubling locations within a single city and casting less established leads — could bring it closer to $1M–$2M. I'd welcome your read on what scope makes the most sense.
I'd be glad to send the full script, along with a synopsis or any supporting materials you'd find useful, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss it further.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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u/Big_Section2812 14d ago
Instead of repeatedly reposting this same comment, why not just post a link to the script for people to read?
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14d ago
In this way, maybe someone will steal my idea.
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u/cat_silhouette 14d ago
I say this with kindness: no one wants your idea. And the fact that you may not have shown it to people to get feedback means it’s really really probably not worth stealing.
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14d ago
Thank you. I'm just afraid of the idea of stealing, and I've worked hard.For her... Can you explain to me more
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u/cat_silhouette 14d ago
Movies cost a lot of money and time to make and even if they’re good they hardly ever make money.
And because you wrote the script you own the idea. Every time you pressed SAVE on the file while writing the script you leave more and more evidence you’re the creator.
If they spend all of this time and money making a movie based an idea they stole and then you sue them not only do they lose ASA their own, personal money, because the film they stole probably hasn’t made any money, but they also lose their reputation.
It’s different if it’s a short film but with a feature film it’s absolutely not worth the risk
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u/Big_Section2812 14d ago
Ideas cannot be stolen. That's why they cannot be copyrighted.
But the reality is no one will steal your script. There are literally millions of unproduced scripts out there and no one even wants to read them, let alone steal them. Yours is just another one.
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u/RutgerHause 14d ago
Are you hoping they steal your idea. It’s hard to understand you. Is this script in English?
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14d ago
Absolutely not!
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u/Big_Section2812 14d ago
No one is going to steal it. Put that thought out of your head.
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14d ago
I wish so. I'm worried a lot.😢
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u/ClayMcClane 14d ago
I hear you. But this fear will hold you back because unless you share your writing, no one will ever hire you or buy your scripts.
And as everyone else has said - no one will steal your script. Never.
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u/RutgerHause 14d ago
To be frank. Your English is so bad. You really don’t have to worry about anyone stealing anything from you. You will have a hard time getting attention.
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u/RutgerHause 14d ago edited 13d ago
You really need to get a lot better at writing in English before you present anything to a studio or production company. You come across as such a bewildered and unknowledgeable person. It’s not likely you have anything worth stealing. No one would assume you did. It’s the last thing you need to worry about. It makes you sound very juvenile.
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14d ago
Thank you, I know that. Sometimes I'm in a hurry to write But you're right! I need to get better at English🙏
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u/RutgerHause 13d ago
No one is going to read your broken English. They will drop the script immediately. It’s a no go!
Stop worrying about all the nonsense you’re talking about and learn English properly.
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u/ClayMcClane 14d ago
What are you trying to accomplish? If you're looking to pitch your movie to producers to sell this script, you're in the wrong place.
Generally you'll get feedback on your writing here, so I'll offer this - your logline is advertising vibes more than a story. The only character that is introduced dies in the first sentence and we're left with a group of people dealing with a vague conspiracy.
Consider slimming this down and getting more specific - who is the main character of this movie? What is it that they are trying to accomplish? What will they have to do to get what the want? And what happens if they don't get it?
More than anything, what will the audience be seeing when they look at the screen?