11/19/2021 UPDATE: My coming-of-age feature film screenplay FIGHT OR PLAY BASKETBALL has recently received an Honorable Mention accolade from Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards https://www.santabarbarascreenplayawards.com/

5/9/2021 UPDATE: Even more exciting news as my Fight or Play Basketball coming-of-age, sports and family themed feature film screenplay has reached FINALIST status in the prestigious FLORIDA SCRIPT CHALLENGE. The results are listed here: https://www.floridascriptchallenge.com/contest-resultsupdates

5/3/2021 UPDATE: My Fight or Play Basketball feature film screenplay has been named as a semi-finalist in FLORIDA SCRIPT CHALLENGE.

ORIGINAL POST, August 2020:

I’m happy to report my feature film screenplay FIGHT OR PLAY BASKETBALL has been accepted into Florida Script Challenge out of Tampa, website: https://www.floridascriptchallenge.com/

Here are some words from the FSC organizers Dallas Gibson and Crow Gibson, “Let’s hear it for the screenwriters, people! The backbone, yet often overlooked, of the film industry. Screenwriters are a group of people who would love to have their work recognized but seldom do. The Florida Script Challenge is aiming to change that. We ourselves are screenwriters and have been for five years now. We know the struggle for screenwriters and the inability to find someone to read your work. We’re here to give you an avenue to have your work judged by your peers in screenwriting. For our second year, we decided to take things up a notch! Not only will we be adding a feature category to the contest but we have paired with Final Draft to offer a copy of Final Draft 11 Screenwriting Software to our Grand Prize winner for 2021!”

Mike says, “On a personal note, it means a lot to have my script – which is written to take place in my old home town of Providence, Rhode Island – to be accepted and eventually named as a finalist into the prestigious Florida Script Challenge out of Tampa, one of the great cities of my new home state of Florida.

Fight or Play Basketball is a universal story and could be filmed in many cities but the grit of the boxing gym and ‘wiener diner’ scenes were definitely inspired by my time in Providence. During this recent worldwide crisis, I have continued to add layers to the story of  teenage sports prodigy Jack, his single mom Janet,  Boxers “Sweet Sugar” Brown and “Punch”  Pangora, and Basketball Coach Steele; the key ensemble characters in Fight or Play Basketball.  

Running Avalonia Festival myself, I know this is an unprecedented and vital time for quality film and screenplay festivals across the world to keep steady and remain as their important part of the filmmaking industry;  therefore, I am extremely impressed how Florida Script Challenge, among other quality film and screenplay festivals, are evolving and adapting their events with public safety in mind while still valuing all those that have entered their contests in good faith. With patience and cooperation, I am confident the film industry will weather this storm of events and perhaps come out the other side of it even stronger than before. “

The logline of Fight or Play Basketball reads as “Jack, a phenomenal high-school basketball player, is desperate to get a college sports scholarship but an encounter with a nearby boxing legend reveals Jack’s
talent and interest in fighting, and his dilemma about his future.”

For any potential film financiers, investors or production companies interested in Fight or Play Basketball, I can be reached through mikemessiermoviemaker@gmail.com 

The script’s treatment and/or full screenplay may be made available for serious inquires.

Previous Fight or Play Basketball Screenplay Accolades:
Winner: Mediterranean Film Festival Best Social Drama 2017
Winner: Rhode Island International Film Festival Spotlight on New England 2015
Semi-Finalist: Hamilton International Film Fest Best Script 2017
Top 5 Finalist: Sherman Oaks Film Festival Screenplay Comp. 2017
Quarter Finalist (as a TV pilot spec) CineStory Foundation 2016

Fight or Play Basketball screenplay has also been ACCEPTED into the following film/screenplay festivals:

Austin Revolution Film Festival , Orlando International Film Festival , Kill Jim, Madhouse Movies Film Festival, Silver Screen Filmfest , Great Message International Film Festival, ASMRKitten and Boston Collective Film Festival.

The Fight or Play Basketball Two Page treatment was named as a Semi-Finalist in the 2017 Los Angeles Script and Storyboard Showcase.

I also have this short video pitch of the Fight or Play Basketball screenplay.