Parody Mashup film trailer script – “Ronald D. Moore’s ‘Love Boat’ ”

Click here to download this free short film script: The Parody Mash-Up Film Trailer. (.pdf)

Genre: Horror Action Comedy Thriller Parody Mash-Up

Log Line: After an icky and violent alien invasion, the only people left at the end of the world are a few people floating in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship. How will they survive?

Working Title: “Ronald D. Moore’s ‘Love Boat’ ”

Locations: 3-4 (including a cruise ship, port, gangplank, pier, or public location with people waving bye-bye to departing travelers)

Casting: 6 actors, 2 actresses.

The Parody Mash-Up is a fun exercise where completely different genres, entertainment properties, or other elements are combined. I like it (and wrote this one) when what is being combined sneaks up on the viewer at the very end of the piece, providing a flash of recognition and laughter – and, perhaps, insight.

In my Ronald D. Moore ‘Love Boat’ Parody Mash-Up, elements like character names from the original 1970’s TV series are not apparent to the audience until the last moment when the title is revealed. Part of this is to amuse the viewer. Part of this is also to encourage people to watch the trailer repeatedly, looking for clues and characters they didn’t notice until the moment they recognized the property that’s being quoted.

The joke of this piece centers on how some current entertainment is radically recycled from entertainment from the past – in this case, a cheezy 70’s TV show – and also (in this case) greatly changing the tone and purpose of the original. In the case of BSG (Battlestar Galactica) and other examples, modern updating moves what was originally a cheezy comedy into dark, dramatic territory. My script parodies this genre, remaining humorous (at heart) in my updates.

Using the Horror Action Comedy Thriller Parody Mash-Up Film Trailer screenplay:

On the “film-ability” front, don’t be intimidated by the variety or audacity of locations as written. As with all of my free short film scripts, this is released under a Creative Commons license so you can tailor it to the resources, locations, and imaginative powers available to you. The screenplay is royalty free under the terms of its Creative Commons licensing. Enjoy!

This fake trailer contains the same format and introductory information as the book  ’26 Short Screenplays for Independent Filmmakers‘ — a free sample or preview.

Did you enjoy this script? Ready for more?  26 Short Screenplays for Independent Filmmakers is only $1 per script, free shipping wherever Amazon offers it.