About

Rustic Gate Media
The Rustic Gate encourages us to use our creativity to enhance our lives, contribute to communities, and leave a lasting legacy. (ref: The Gates Of Wisdom)

CURRENT PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT

Writer's Statement: "My screenplays deal with the crossroads of life, that period of time or moment that presents the stark choice: to follow one's own unique path, versus living the story that society or others have written for us... Thank you for choosing this moment to venture into these worlds - I hope they lead you on a road worth traveling." Mason Cooper*

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Awards: Chicago Indie Film Awards - Winner: BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY (winter 2021) | Boston Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (August 2021) | Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (2020)

- Life's A Pitch (Feature Film) [A Coming-Of-Age Romantic Dramedy in the vein of: Post Grad, 500 Day Of Summer, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty]

Logline: On a deadline to finish his screenplay, JC lets his daydreams get in the way of his reality, while CeeCee’s own ambitions gets her mired in the high-powered world of business and her own dreams; But a special weekend event forces them to face the true test of love and life, facing temptations that may or may not lead them to their real fate.

Awards: Global Online Film Competition - Winner: BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY (September 2021) | LA Sun Film Fest - Official Selection FINALIST (August 2021) | Portland Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (May 2021) | Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (Winter 2020) | Los Angeles Reel Film Festival - TOP 5 Honorable Mention (May 2021) / Boston Screenplay Awards - QUARTERFINALIST (August 2021) | Miami Screenplay Awards - QUARTERFINALIST (winter 2021) | Chicago Indie Film Awards - OFFICIAL SELECTION (Winter 2021)

- What A Trip (Feature Film) [A Romantic Heist Drama in the vein of: Get A Job, Fun With Dick And Jane, Rob The Mob]

Logline: As young newlyweds Darcy and Eddie break from their overbearing parents and face financial hardship, their travel agency jobs helps them borrow shelter during their transition to independence. However, when they fall into an accidental life of crime, they find themselves pitted against the local mob, the police and their consciences.

Awards: Berlin Int'l Art Film Festival - TOP 5 finalist (January 2022) | New York International Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (May 2021) / Miami Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (winter 2021) | Los Angeles Movie Awards - TOP 8 HONORABLE MENTION (Screenplay) (winter 2021) | Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards - QUARTERFINALIST (2020) | Chicago Indie Film Awards - OFFICIAL SELECTION (Winter 2021) | The Script Lab Screenplay Awards - QUARTERFINALIST

- The Other You (Feature Film) [An Alternate Reality, SocioFantasy Drama in the vein of Midnight In Paris, A Beautiful Mind, Sliding Doors – with change of life elements of Jerry McGuire, Up In The Air]

Logline: Successful architect Colt McCoy is at a crossroads, between the stress of the fast paced millennial high life that could kill him, reclaiming the life he originally was aiming for, and being lost in a surreal world that may or may not be in his head, all guiding him down divergent roads not yet taken… how will he know which path is fantasy and which path is his reality?

Awards: LA Sun Film Fest - Official Selection FINALIST (August 2021) | New York International Screenplay Awards - SEMI-FINALIST (May 2021) | Boston Screenplay Awards - QUARTERFINALIST (August 2021) | Portland Screenplay Awards - QUARTERFINALIST (May 2021) | Redwood Shorts And Scripts - Winner BEST SCRIPT WRITTEN DURING PANDEMIC (December 2021)

- Empty Next (Feature Film) [Comedy/Romance/Empty Nesters - in the vein of: Meet the Parents, Grownups, Why Him?]

Logline: Derek and Shannon celebrate a wedding renewal weekend to kick off recapturing the adventure of the days of young love; But the surprise guests their grown kids show up with throws a wrench into the weekend. Afraid they’ll get sucked back into forever parenting, they devise a plan to steer the kids into adulting for themselves… What could go wrong?

Awards: Redwood Shorts And Scripts - Winner BEST DRAMA FEATURE SCRIPT (December 2021) | Rome Prisma Film Awards - OFFICIAL SELECTION (January 2022)

- Why Me?(Feature Film) [Drama / Homelessness - in the vein of: Same Kind Of Difference As Me, Shelter, Safe Ground, Homeless Ashes]

Logline: Up against a project deadline, a family argument sends writer/director Preston Rogers reeling, despondently wandering the city streets and feeling invisible, where a homeless group helps him see that is their norm, setting him on a path to find more meaning in his work and life before it all comes crashing down.

- Beyond The Echoes (Limited Mini-Series) [Crime, Drama, Psychological Mystery in the vein of: Sharp Objects, Dark Places, Ordinary People]

Logline: Sharing a tragic past, two siblings and their best friend are on separate psychological and emotional paths, until a confluence of events brings them together as they uncover the hidden truths, of not just their personal experiences with racism, sexual abuse and war, but of a secret society built on debauched white privilege and power.

- Line Of Succession (Feature Film Treatment)

Logline: When the Speaker Of The House finds himself as the acting President during a national tragedy, his military special ops training comes into play, as he uncovers a broad conspiracy to control the world’s power structure, from an unexpected source...

- The Sound Of Sunset (TV Series Treatment)

Logline: A rising music superstar’s life takes a left turn, suddenly the caretaker for her teenage siblings and overseeing the family’s historic but rundown club near LA’s Sunset Strip, all while trying to save her dreams and family.

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RECENT PRODUCTION CREDITS