HEADGAMES

LOGLINE: HEAD GAMES is a suspense thriller that is a cross between The Sixth Sense and Three Days of the Condor

SYNOPSIS: Late one night in New York City , a government operative has a hasty meeting with his superior, Mr. Stout. As he informs Stout of an assignation plot, he soon realizes that it was Stout that was behind the assassination. Unfortunately, Stout had already poisoned the agent's brandy. It an ironic twist though, the agent doesn't die immediately. To cover, Stout goes through the motions of trying to save the comatose agent and has him rushed to a hospital.

Meanwhile, Vinnie Celaberti, a testosterone driven cabbie is playing cards with his buddies. He always had a knack of winning at cards. Vinnie is suddenly stricken with appendicitis and is also rushed to the hospital. In the ER, we meet Jane, one of Vinnie's Ex's. She is surprised to see Mrs. Celaberti, Vinnie's worrisome mother, who informs her that Vinnie was brought to the ER. After they find him, Jane sends Mrs. Celaberti away and gives Vinnie a “Revenge Enema”. Moments later the hospital is swamping with agents and Stout.

While under anesthesia, Vinnie enters the minds of the operating team and reads their thoughts. After the operation, Vinnie is placed in the recovery room with the poisoned agent. As Stout confers with the agent's surgeon, Vinnie begins to come to and blurts out parts of Stout's last conversation with the agent.

Stout immediately puts Vinnie under surveillance and fills the hospital with undercover agents.

The next morning, Vinnie passes everything off as a bad nightmare. Jane tries to apologize for the enema and they start to argue again. In the mist of the arguing, he revels some of the hospital gossip he read from the surgical nurses. Later on, Jane tell some of the other hospital staffers of how he suddenly knew things. This, of course, gets back to Stout.

That night, Stout orders the deaths of both the unconscious agent and Vinnie. After the agent is killed by injection, an undercover nurse tries the same with Vinnie. As she starts to inject his IV, he flirts and tries to get her name. He then comes up with her code name and suddenly knows she trying to kill him. They fight and she killed instead. Still recovering from surgery, Vinnie escapes from the hospital as his new power begins to grow.

With no where else to go, he shows up at Jane's door. She doesn't believe him but is concerned about his stitches. Agents then show up at her apartment. Before they pick the lock, Vinnie senses them and smuggles Jane out the back door leaving her dog behind. Jane puts up a fight until she hears them shoot the dog.

Stout, now looking more closely at the events that transpired, begins to piece things together about Vinnie.

While hiding out, Vinnie can not control his telepathy starts to lose his mind. Previously closed to him, him finally reads Jane's mind and realizes how badly he had hurt her. Remembering more about the assassination of an Arabian princes, the couple rushes to the South Street Sea Port where it will take place. In a vain attempt to stop it, they are captured and the princess is assassinated.

Stout gives Vinnie an ultimatum, join with him or he'll kill Jane and his family. Vinnie agrees, but after a very unexpected twist, Stout gets his come uppings and the couple is set free.

*** Contact Drew Herinksen's agent Susan Hart at hartliterary@verizon.net for more information. ***

NIGHT MAN

LOGLINE: NIGHT MAN - After witnessing the savage murder of an old woman, Dr. Dana Johnson is thrust into a battle between good and evil, with a young child caught in the middle. Is the mysterious night man the old woman's father?

SYNOPSIS: Twenty years before the start of the main story, African American detective Vernon Fuller is in charge of a drug bust that goes terribly wrong. After killing a few of his officers, the dealers take a young woman hostage. After they escape with her in their clutches, we find out she's a witch named Cassandra Grey. Moments later, Fuller finds the dealers mutilated and hearts missing.

In the present day, we meet compassionate to a fault Dr. Dana Johnsen. While comforting a dieing elderly patient a mysterious young man, Erik Grey, visits the old woman. Dana overhears her calling him papa and warning him that Cassandra is after her grandson. Security then barges in on the man. Erik fights them off with superhuman speed and strength. After he escapes, Dana checks back in on the old woman and finds her neck snapped. Hovering over her is Cassandra, who quickly vanishes.

Later that night, Detective Fuller interviews Dana about the scene. He immediately recognizes Cassandra from Dana's description but stays tight lipped.

On her way home that night, Dana spots Erik's car at a roadhouse. Out of place, she enters the bar and confronts a drunken Erik. He tells her that the old woman was his daughter and Cassandra was his sister and a witch. Believing that he has psychological problems she leaves the bar and is confronted by two red necks she mouthed off too when she walked in. Erik saves her and then returns to her home. There he tells her he was really hundreds of years old. The next morning Dana finds him leaving, she confronts him and tells him that she knows of the child. She joins him in hopes of helping him psychologically and prove his innocence.

At an orphanage, we meet four-year-old Steve who insists he's ten. When Erik can't prove he is a blood relative, he decides to kidnap him before Cassandra can get him. Now concerned for the child's safety from Cassandra and maybe Erik, she conspires with him. That night they return for Steven, only to meet Cassandra's men. A gun battle ensues and she and Erik manage to escape with Steven.

Detective Fuller investigates the shooting and finds it odd that Steven's late mother was apparently pregnant for two years.

Held up in a barn, Erik explains to Steven that he was from a far away land where the people lived hundreds of years and the women have supernatural powers. Later he tells Dana that Cassandra wants Steven so she can have children with him. She needs to breed with her own kind to have powerful young under her command. Dana then tries to escape with the boy the next day and is stopped by Erik. She tells him she thinks he and Cassandra were traumatized as children and build a fantasy world for protection. Infuriated, Erik takes her and Steven to the nearest library where he shows her a book on the old west. Inside is his picture is on a wanted poster. Unfortunately Cassandra is lying in wait and grabs the child.

After finding out were she lives, Erik goes to rescue Steven. Meanwhile, Fuller arrests Dana. To her surprise he has already figured out what was going on and agrees to help her save both Steven and Erik.

At her mansion, Cassandra tries to seduce Erik by taking the form of his late wife. She almost succeeds until Dana shows up at the last moment. Erik then decides to kill himself and Steven to prevent Cassandra from ever completing her evil. Right before he jumps off the roof, he has a religious revelation. With his new power, he magically escapes. Cassandra then goes after Dana. As she is about to give the final deathblow, Erik and Steven return to save her and overpower Cassandra.

In the end, Dana has found her soul mate in Erik and adopts Steven. But the memories of Cassandra continue to haunt her.

*** Contact Drew Herinksen's agent Susan Hart at hartliterary@verizon.net for more information. ***

OY-VEY MARIA

LOGLINE: OY-VEY MARIA ! is a romantic / family comedy about a nun & a rabbi in the vein of a Nora Ephron style story. We meet Sister Maria Fiearo and Rabbi Milton Goldstein and their family in this funny look at family love and relationships.

SYNOPSIS: On a late night cable access talk show, six foot five black transvestite (Ru-Paul type), tells us the unusual story of Maria and Milton.

After the death of her only sister, Sister Maria Fiearo is granted permission to live outside the convent to raise her young nephew Tony Scalici. At the same time, lawyer and Jewish cantor Milton Goldstein has buried his beloved Silvia and must raise his only daughter, Ester, by himself.

As the years past, the rambunctious Tony grows up to became a police officer. This does not sit well with Maria who is used to getting her way. Meanwhile Milton is not happy with Ester's choice to go to law school. Both parents realize that they can not treat them like children as anymore, even though Maria still gives it a shot once an awhile.

With Tony in the police academy, Maria starts volunteering more at the local clinic and windups running the place. Milton, who had started rabbinical school years before, completes his life long dream and becomes a rabbi.

A few years later Ester and Tony meet and fall deeply in love. They decide to marry but are reluctant to tell each parent about each other's religious status. Neither Maria or Milton is thrilled with the fact their children are marring outside their faiths, but Maria cares for Ester as much as Milton cares for Tony.

After Maria and Milton find out about each other, they never get to meet each other till the day of the wedding. Not knowing what the other looks like, Milton asked Maria to dance with him. As they tear up the dance floor, the entire reception hall comes to a grinding halt with one big gasp.

Also at the wedding we meet the army aunts. There's Tony's Italian aunts dress all in black and Esters' Jewish aunts dressed to the nines. Although they are cold at first to each other, they soon realize that their two cultures are almost identical. The ice thaws and they quickly become friends.

Maria and Milton also become close friends and begin to spend a lot of time together reminiscing about the old neighborhood. To Tony though, it appears that they are becoming too friendly.

After a house fire, Tony and Ester are forced to move in with Maria. The situation with two passionate newlyweds and a nun in the same house does not work. Rather than have Maria sleep in the clinic, Ester begs her father to let Maria stay with him. Since Maria has decided to retire and move back to her convent, living with the rabbi will not be a long-term deal (in theory).

Milton now finds himself enjoying Maria's company more than he'd like. He finds out that she is really a carefree spirit and a beautiful person. This does not go unnoticed by his mentor and friend rabbi Nordberg. Being a crotchety but loveable man, Nordberg eggs Milton on thinking the two were made for each other.

Others now begin to notice the unusual couples relationship and begin to gossip. In a subtle way Maria begins to feel her own womanhood and starts to pull away. Milton, thinking the whole thing is ridiculous also pulls away. Ester and Tony's marriage also begins to show signs of trouble as the young couple starts to deal with more serious issues. Matters are made even worse by Ester's unexpected pregnancy.

While looking for a replacement for the clinic Maria meets Milton again in Buffalo. The two drive home together and are snowed in at a country inn. Milton confesses his love for her and Maria is caught off guard. He asks her to leave the convent and marry him. Reacting violently, Maria leaves the next morning without talking to him.

The two of them avoid each other until Tony is shot. Sitting vigil, Maria and Milton comfort each other till Tony is safely out of surgery. Maria then explains that she is already married to the man upstairs and decides to proceed with her retirement.

On the day of Maria's retirement celebration at the local cathedral, Milton races to the mass for one last word with Maria. In an ending like The Graduate, Milton tells Maria that he loves her as a friend and wants her to stay as a friend, mother, and grandmother. Maria then realizes that her love for Milton is the love of deep friendship and family and she has nothing to feel guilty about. In the end they all realize that the love of one does not take away from the love of another. United, the unusual but normal family live out a life of love and happiness together.

*** Contact Drew Herinksen's agent Susan Hart at hartliterary@verizon.net for more information. ***

THE WAITING GAME

LOGLINE: THE WAITING GAME is a psychological thriller that blends the suspense styles of Hitchcock and Terentino. After a small town pathologist murders the town's bullies, an unknown party then blackmails him. In this cat and mouse game, it asks the question what is evil and what will cause someone to be evil.

SYNOPSIS: Thirty years before the start of the main part of the story Jacob, a sickly eight year old, is beaten severally by Danny and Bubba, two slow-witted bullies a year older.

Many years later, Jacob is the chief pathologist in the local hospital. Despite all he has done for the town, he still lives in the shadow of his dead father, a high school football hero. We see that Jacob is quietly infuriated that the town's folk still place a higher value on high school football than more important issues. Although Danny and Bubba are low lives, they are still placed at the top of Southaven's society as football heroes.

Later that night, we learn that Jacob as an amazing double life. During the week he is Dr. Jacob Ambrose, while on the weekends he becomes Jake, a womanizing ranch-hand. One night as Jake, he finds Danny and Bubba beating up a smaller man in a bar's parking lot. Being in much better shape, Jake kicks the piss out of both of them. Neither Danny nor Bubba recognize who Jake really is. While driving home drunk, Danny and Bubba are in an accident and sent to Jacob's hospital, a gothic brick maze of old hallways.

Meanwhile a young psych nurse, Tracy, sets her eyes on the icy and mysterious Dr. Ambrose.

Now that Jacob's two worlds have collided, it brings back terrible memories of his youth. These memories bring him to the point of murder. Late one night, Jacob stays late and sneaks into Danny's room unnoticed and injects Danny's IV with pure salt. Since he is the pathologist, only he will know what was the real cause of death.

Feeling guilt, Jacob goes and confesses to the local priest and leaves. The next day Jacob gets a phone call from a stranger saying that God does not forgive him for his sins. Rushing to the scene, he finds that the priest has died of an apparent heart attack. The detective at the scene, Ms Jayme Lang, finds Jacob's presents interesting and starts to observe Jacob more closely.

Back at the hospital, he meets up with Tracy and she is touched by Jacob's genuine concern for the patients and for Roger, a 6'4 giant. Later, that day, as his paranoia grows, Jacob concludes that Bubba was the mysterious caller. That night, he kills bubba.

Then Tracy unexpectedly meets up with Jacob as Jake in a cowboy bar. They immediately click since they both feel like outsiders in Southaven. Then the phone calls start again. His paranoia begins to grow again as he suspects everyone. Although he suspects Tracy, his growing love for her makes him look at other people.

After pulling a few strings, Jacob gets Lang off his case until she gets a phone call. Lang confronts Jacob with everything he has done. After she reveals that no one knows of her findings, Jacob murders her and disposes of the body with the rest of the autopsy parts.

The phone caller no longer intimidates him. Furious, the caller swears revenge. Jacob laughs it off until he hears the psych ward door alarm in the background. Enraged and betrayed, Jacob rushes to the hospital to kill Tracy. As he gets to the psych ward, he finds a phone call waiting for him. It's Roger the patient. Roger had escaped and was holding Tracy hostage at Jacob's house. Jacob rushes back home to find Roger holding a gun to Tracy's head. He explains that he was robbing the church that night and over heard Jacob's confession. Roger then checked himself in the hospital to keep an eye on Jacob. He then tells Tracy how Jacob meant to kill her for betraying him. A gunfight breaks out that leaves Roger dead and Jacob close to it. He pleads for forgiveness from Tracy.

Jacob comes to weeks later in the hospital. He learns that he is now a hero. At his bedside, Tracy manipulated the story so Roger got blamed. Just as he thinks he has gotten away scott-free, he see his mother's engagement ring on Tracy's finger. Tracy had also told everyone that Jacob would be marrying her. In a supple way, she lets Jacob know that she will tell his secret if he does not do as he is told.

In the end, Jacob gets away with murder, but is forever under Tracy's control.

*** Contact Drew Herinksen's agent Susan Hart at hartliterary@verizon.net for more information. ***