My favorite projects. Ready to pitch.
Barbara Louise Leiding
Nine Pitches — Features and Series TV
Until we meet by phone, online or in person, you are invited to preview my favorite projects below. Like any? You do know how to reach me, right?
Naturally, all standard industry agreement terms, conditions and disclaimers apply.
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Blue Moon
“A moon. A whale.. Two couples. And one bossy ancient sage.”
Action/Comedy/Fantasy
Logline: Two couples win a chance to compete in ancient fertility ritual that guarantees conception. But can they ride a whale when the moon turns blue? Read more…
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The Devil Plays Bingo
"Love is hell. And then you die."
Horror/Comedy
Logline: A casino in Hell is rigged. Devils bet on cars about to crash back on Earth. But when a newly fallen soul realizes he was killed in one of those crashes, he sets off on a head-spinning journey to find the devil who made the crash happen. Read more…
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Hula
"It takes a village to hula."
Dramedy
Logline: When a popular diva has a ziplining accident, a shy gay man has one week to prove he should replace her as the star fire dancer in a hula competition — but no one knows he can dance. Read more…
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The Zen of Otto
"He tried to be good."
Thriller with a Soul
Nominated for a Fade In Award —Coverage Comment: “Massively entertaining.”
Logline: In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, a hitman who believes in reincarnation wants to rid himself of bad karma after he falls in love with his intended victim. Read more…
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Dancing with Jou Jou
“A Bouncy Soap Opera.”
Comedy/Series/Adaptation
Won a John Hughes Award
Logline: A dance-crazed con artist ropes his saintly girlfriend into a madcap scheme to swindle a lottery winner out of a fortune. Read more…
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Sing for Your Supper
“She sings. Her sister gets rich.”
Comedy
Inspired by the Britney Spears conservatorship debacle, but with a comedic edge:
Logline: When a crumbling country estate has overdue taxes, a diva discovers her dim-witted sister is a musical prodigy and manipulates her to perform to raise funds. Read more…
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Tennis and Guacamole
“He loves tennis. He loves guacamole. But will the woman he loves ever love him?”
Comedy Series
Logline: A fun-loving tennis star charms the media, wins endorsement deals and infuriates his rivals. His only weakness is his love for the no-nonsense owner of a Mexican restaurant who is unimpressed by his fame. Read more…
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Take Me To Tallulah's
“Sex never goes out of style. Unless the gentleman drops dead.”
Comedy — Appropriately Dark
Logline: A commanding widow battles a fastidious attorney for control of a male escort service dispatching old men, after too many gentleman callers keep dropping dead — three of them at Tallulah’s house. Read more…
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I've Got Headshots
“Her fans long to be famous. And they’ve got headshots.”
Action/Comedy
Logline: A popular, yet washed-up comic actress runs around town claiming to be chased by criminals. But everyone laughs, thinking she’s promoting a new movie and bombard her with the same question: “Hey, will you connect me with an agent? I’ve got headshots!” Read more…
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Blue Moon
“A moon. A whale. Two couples. And one bossy ancient sage.
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The Devil Plays Bingo
“Love is hell. And then you die.”
-
Hula
“It takes a village to hula.”
-
The Zen of Otto
“He tried to be good.”
-
Dancing with Jou Jou
“ A bouncy soap opera.”
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Sing for Your Supper
“Only her sister gets rich.”
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Tennis and Guacamole
“He loves tennis. But will the woman he loves ever love him?”
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Take Me To Tallulah's
“Sex never goes out of style. Unless the gentleman drops dead.”
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I've Got Headshots
“Her fans long to be famous. And they’ve got headshots.”
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Blue Moon
“A moon. A whale. A gossiping parrot. Two human couples. And one bossy ancient sage.”
Action/Comedy/Fantasy
Logline: Two couples win a chance to compete in ancient fertility ritual that guarantees conception. But can they ride a whale when the moon turns blue?
Summary: On a mystical island in the South Pacific, Bossy Ancient Sage -- aka "BoAnSa" -- is lonely. She longs to repopulate her island that's overrun with exotic tropical animals.
She conjures up a whacky TV game show called The Last Resort, where two infertile couples — one from California, the other from New York — win a trip to Fertility Island.
Calamity ensues when the couples’ east coast-west coast differences collide.
Worse, they must work together to save their lives in an animal stampede, a campsite fire, and a tidal wave that sweeps one of them out to sea.
But their mission is clear: they must compete in an ancient fertility ritual that guarantees conception.
But only if one of the couples can ride a whale when the moon turns blue.
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The Devil Plays Bingo
"Love is hell. And then you die."
Horror/Comedy
Nominated for a Fiilmmatic Award — Coverfly Accolade—Story Analyst's Favorite: “Glorious.”
Logline: A casino in Hell is rigged. Devils bet on cars about to crash back on Earth. But when a newly fallen soul realizes he was killed in one of those crashes, he sets off on a head-spinning journey to find the wise-cracking devil who made the crash happen.
Summary: “The Bingo Room” is a boutique betting parlor in Hell’s hottest vacation spot.
That’s where Carlton, a high-stakes gambler from Los Vegas, bets on how many bodies will die in a car crash.
He settles down to watch a live feed from Earth of a car crash about to happen. But when he realizes he’s the driver who’s about to die, he knows the feed is not “live.”
“This game is rigged,” he shouts to a mob of devils. “That’s me who crashed. The “live” feed is not live. It’s a video.”
The mob turns on the croupier-devil who owns The Bingo Room. Carlton points, shouts:
“He knew who was going to die before you placed your bets. He cheated you. And me. I died. And I don’t belong in Hell.”
Chaos ensues, leaving, an old devil to lose his head. Carlton helps to screw it back onto his neck, and the two team up and head back to Earth for an epic chase of the devil cheated them all.
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Hula
"It takes a village to hula."
Dramedy
Logline: When a popular diva has a ziplining accident, a shy gay man has one week to prove he should replace her as the star fire dancer in a hula competition — but no one knows he can dance.
Summary: The story spans generations and is about a modern-day dance troupe that practices ancient hula rituals to worship nature and mythological gods from Hawaiian mythology.
At the center of the action are two couples – one openly gay, the other straight. Both couples struggle with their relationships.
They are counseled by the wise director of the dance troupe, the “kuma hula,” because the hula lifestyle extends beyond the stage and is an integral part of daily life.
Blogging about this rare and exotic culture is the only non-Hawaiian in the village – a former navy pilot who gains acceptance by the close-knit community – and falls love with its diva hula star.
Well-researched traditions, customs and authentic Hawaiian names.
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The Zen of Otto
"He tried to be good."
Thriller with a Soul
Nominated for a Fade In Award —Coverage Comment: “Massively entertaining.”
Logline: In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, a hitman who believes in reincarnation wants to rid himself of bad karma after he falls in love with his intended victim.
Summary: Otto is a hitman poses as a New Age monk all over the Rocky Mountains -- but he’s bored. After his last hit, he tells his boss: “Every week, same game, different town. It’s monotonous.”
He is determined to quit the hitman profession. He wants to find a new career path and shed himself of bad karma, for he doesn’t want to be reincarnated into a goat, spider or even a rock in his next lifetime.
But when the unscrupulous owner of a mountain lodge offers to hire him for a hit with an extra benefit, Otto cannot resist.
Otto’s mission is to romance the beautiful, strong-willed Tea Rose Rock, a waitress at the lodge and rightful heir to the Sebastian Rock family fortune. Otto must pump her for information to find the legendary Sebastian Rock buried treasure of gold -- and then do the hit.
The problem is, Otto falls in love with his intended target after they have sex in the lodge’s kitchen and the video of it goes viral.
Now, Otto must decide if he should keep the gold for himself, do the hit and take on more bad karma -- or prove his love for Tea Rose, while accumulating good karma.
The twist: Otto does not know that Tea Rose is sharp enough to set a trap to find a fake treasure of gold and trick him after he cheats on her by sleeping with a pair of twins -- which only leads Otto to try harder to prove his love for Tea Rose.
Now, who’s the chump?
Spectacular setting: An historic goldmining village surrounded by millions of golden aspen leaves that shimmer in the sun.
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Dancing with Jou Jou
“A Bouncy Soap Opera.”
Comedy/Series/Adaptation
Won a John Hughes Award
Logline: A dance-crazed con artist ropes his saintly girlfriend into a madcap scheme to swindle a lottery winner out of a fortune.
Summary: Mason Figg is a con artist with a gift for dancing. He cooks up a madcap scheme for swindling a loudmouth lottery winner out of a fortune.
But when he ropes his naïve girlfriend into his plans, a chain of calamitous events unfolds, involving love triangles, mistaken identities and high-stakes thefts.
As a side-hustle, romances the neighborhood housewives, teaching them to dance and insisting they each call him “Jou Jou,” French for plaything or toy.
By the end, all his secrets are out. So are all the zoo animals on the lottery winner’s grand country estate.
A media circus captures every twist and turn. They animals run free. But to this day, Mason, a.k.a. “Jou Jou,” is still on the loose…
Works in live action, animation or blend of the two.
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Mayday Sings for Her Supper
“She sings. Her sister gets rich.”
Comedy
Inspired by the Britney Spears conservatorship debacle, but with a comedic edge:
Logline: When a crumbling country estate has overdue taxes, a diva discovers her dim-witted sister is a musical prodigy and manipulates her to perform to raise funds.
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Tennis and Guacamole
“He loves tennis. He loves guacamole. But will the woman he loves ever love him?”
Comedy Series
Logline: A fun-loving tennis star charms the media, wins endorsement deals and infuriates his rivals. His only weakness is his love for the no-nonsense owner of a Mexican restaurant who is unimpressed by his fame.
Summary: Jafford Ames — a.k.a. “The Jaff” — is a tennis star who’s idolized not only for his hotdog shots on the court, but also for his wisecracks, perpetual smile, and many endorsement deals.
His jealous rivals call him “the bad boy of tennis” and plot to take him down, while videos of his escapades go viral of the paparazzi chasing him in his vintage-cool 1971 VW Super Beetle – laughing all the way.
Only his pushy agent knows his weakness – that he secretly loves Valentina, the no-nonsense owner of a Mexican restaurant who is unimpressed by his fame. She’s too busy keeping her business afloat, and dealing with a philandering husband. And making the best guacamole on the planet.
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Take Me To Tallulah's
“Sex never goes out of style. Unless the gentleman drops dead.”
Comedy — Appropriately Dark
Logline: A commanding widow battles a fastidious attorney for control of a male escort service dispatching old men, after too many gentleman callers keep dropping dead.
Summary: Women overrun a California beach town. They are all wealthy widows of every race, culture, shapes and sizes.
Much to their dismay, they outnumber the population of men by thirty to one.
Fortunately, Archibald Twigg is an attorney running a male escort service on the side. His stable of gentleman callers are old men, but the only men left in a town.
The problem is, the old fellows keep dropping dead on the job -- three of them at Tallulah Spearhead’s house.
Despite her age, Tallulah is a gorgeous widow. She must have the beauty gene. She’s been beautiful her entire life. Upon first sight, the men sent to her by Archibald’s service are so taken with her stunning good looks -- they get overly excited – and have heart attacks -- and drop dead -- on Tallulah’s front steps.
Have they taken too much Viagra? Or was it their shock that an older woman could be so lovely and take their breath away — literally.
After the third gentleman caller drops dead, Archibald tells his driver, “Take me to Tallulah’s.” He’s determined to find out what’s going on.
Unfortunately, diplomacy goes by the wayside. Archibald and Tallulah have a knockdown, drag out fight. And Tallulah takes over the escort service, determined to fix up the old men.
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I've Got Headshots
“Her fans want to be famous, too.”
Action/Comedy
Logline: A popular, yet washed-up comic actress runs around town claiming to be chased by criminals. But everyone laughs, thinking she’s promoting a new movie and bombard her with the same question:
“Hey, will you connect me with an agent? I’ve got headshots!”
Summary: Glenda Hargood was once a popular comic actress with numerous film credits to her name. But when work dries up, she downsizes to a small, crumbling apartment in Hollywood.
After she moves in, she witnesses her downstairs neighbors committing a crime. Her landlady doesn’t believe her and refuses to break the lease. That is, unless Glenda agrees to a deal:
“Get me an agent. I’ve got headshots.”
Glenda can’t even land a job for herself. Her movie career seems to be over. When the bad guy neighbors realize she’s blown their cover, a madcap chase ensues, sending Glenda all over town.
Unfortunately, no one believes Glenda’s claim. Everyone thinks she’s rehearsing a new role or promoting a new movie.
She’s hounded with the same question from friends, a hotel clerk, strangers on the street, passengers on a train, and even the police:
“Can you connect me with an agent? I’ve got headshots.”
Desperate for safe ground, she camps out in a jail cell, a health club -- and even a soundstage, thanks to an eccentric but loveable director who can’t distinguish between reality and the movies.
She later rushes the stage at a comedy club’s open mic night, where her surprise banter with the MC is perceived as a performance. Video goes viral on social media. The bad guys chasing Glenda know exactly where to find her.
So does a handsome detective who believes Glenda’s story -- and wants to break into the movies himself. Just like the others on Glenda’s journey, he’s wants an agent. He’s got headshots.