TV SPEC – RICK AND MORTY TV Show by Matthew Feldman

TV SPEC of RICK and MORTY Written by Matthew FeldmanCAST LIST: NARRATOR – Michelle Alexander MORTY – Noah Casey RICK – Brian Carleton BETH – Dana Thody JESUS CHRIST – Chris Reid Geisler SUMMER – Angela Cavallin FLUXO – Ucal Shillingford

SYNOPSIS:

Genre: Comedy, Animation, Adventure

Rick and Beth go on an interstellar vacation. Back on earth, Morty recieves unexpected help on his history project while Summer finds a new love interest.

Get to know the winning writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

Beth is approached for her expertise in horse surgery to save a dying alien species from extinction and manages to convince Rick to tag along for a crazy adventure. Meanwhile at home, Morty seeks help from a notable icon to help with history homework to discover he isn’t exactly who he thought he was.

2. How does this episode fit into the context of the series?

I feel Rick and Morty’s success stems from many of their storylines discussing pop culture and frequently explored sitcom subjects to approach them in a way unexpected to the audience. Given that signature style of story telling, I feel my spec. is in line with your prototypical episode by both satirizing the film “The Hangover” and approaching the religious figure of Jesus in an unexpected way.

3. How would you describe this script in two words?

Unconventionally controversial.

4. What TV show do you watch over and over again?

I have two televisions series I enjoy to re-watch. I love re-watching both Rick and Morty and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I feel like the writing in both those series have phenomenal, atypical, comedy writing that doesn’t compare to much of what is currently out there. The way they approach their storytelling is so unique, I always re-watch those shows to get a different take on watching the same episode again.

5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

I would say this screenplay took me roughly two and half months to produce the first draft. Then I spent a few more months accumulating notes and improving the quality of the story. In total, I probably spent five months working on this screenplay.

6. How many stories have you written?

Thus far, I’ve written seven stories.

7. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

I’m very interested in pursing a career as a screenwriter as my passion is the art of storytelling. In order to show case my work, I thought it would be best to write sample material for one of my favorite shows, thus writing a spec. episode of Rick and Morty.

8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

For those who have watched Rick and Morty before, many will notice the voices of the characters are quite peculiar. That said, it was quite an obstacle trying to accurately replicate both Rick and Morty’s voices. Rick often interrupts people while talking, he burps in the middle of talking, he’ll interrupt himself to drink from his flask. On the other hand, Morty often stutters when talking, is uncertain of himself, and finds himself repeating Rick’s name several times over while chatting with Rick. It took along time of watching the existing episode of Rick and Morty to assure I got those nuanced details just right.

9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Apart from writing, I’m very passionate about music. I’ve spent 10 years playing piano and 15 years playing trombone. I believe I have a rather wide musical palette enjoying musical genres ranging from Country to Rock to Classical.

10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

As a relatively new writer, I’m still trying to discover my voice, in addition to identifying flaws in my writing. As a result, I identified several writing festivals that were know for providing stellar feedback on scripts and thus decided to submit my script to Wildsound. Upon submitting an early draft of my script to wild sound, their feedback helped me identify problems in my script which guided me in future re-writes to better improve the quality of my script.

11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

If there is anything I’ve learned from my several years writing, the art of writing is something that improves with time, practice, and feedback. Write a script, make it as good as you can, and don’t be intimidated to distribute it/ask for feedback. If you fear your work being stolen, don’t be. Writers are often egotistic and would never have the ability to pass off someone elses work as their own. Other writer’s will help identify the problems you aren’t seeing in your works and will often help you improve as a writer. Although, take advice with a grain of salt. All writer’s have different tastes and opinions, so don’t feel you need to take every note you are given. Get as many notes as you can, as the comments consistent across several writer’s will typically guide yo to where your work needs improvement

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Producer/Director: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com

Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne

Editor: John Johnson

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