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The Accomplice

A lovable reform school grad, desperately seeking a fresh start in a small town, unwittingly becomes an accomplice in a murder committed by the most popular kid in town.

Ethan Engel, 16, leaves his addicted mother's dingy Indianapolis house one night and gets caught shoplifting a frozen dinner to feed his little brother. Upon release from reform school, Ethan and his brother live with a caring aunt in the suburbs. He stars in football, excels in school and falls in love. Life is wonderful until his brutish father forces them to move with him to tiny Huxley, Indiana. Barred from the football team, longing for his girl in Indianapolis, and chafing under his disparaging father, the senior class newcomer strives to make new friends.

One is Josh Walters, star athlete, "A" student, Sunday school teacher - and also a closet gay homophobe from an evangelical family. Josh talks Ethan into joining him to case the rural home of a reputed gun collector, drug dealer and predatory homosexual. Upon arrival Ethan looks on in sickened astonishment as Josh shoots the man then chops his head open with a hatchet.

Ethan is convicted as an accomplice. In prison he surmounts the loss of his girlfriend, abandonment by his parents, and a brutal corrections system while his aunt wages a courageous and successful fight to free and redeem him.

Written by:
Format:
Screenplay
Genres:
Posted:
04/24/2020
Updated:
10/09/2023
Author Bio:
Screenwriting Resume of Joe Russo My Father’s Worst Nightmare • 2017 Tea Dance Int’l Film Festival Best Screenplay • 2018 LGBTQ Int’l Screenplay Competition Top 3 Finalist • 2020 MovieBytes Winning Scripts Top 10 Finalist • 2020 LGBTQ Unboardered Int’l Film Festival Award Winner • 2021 MovieBytes Winning Scripts Top 10 Finalist • 2021 ISA Genre Busting Screenplay Competition Semi Finalist • 2021 NY Tri-State Int’l Film Festival Award Winner

Star Crossed Lovers • 2020 Chicago Screenplay Awards Quarter Finalist

The Accomplice • 2018 Wayward Film Festival Semi Finalist • 2021 LGBTQ Unboardered Int’l Film Festival Award Winner • NOTE: The Accomplice was previously optioned by an Emmy and Peabody award winning movie producer.

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Contest Results:
Wayward Festival (Semifinalist) [2018]
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