COURTING LUCREZIA (WGA# 1306029) was a semi-finalist in the American Accolades competition. It recently placed in the top 15% of the Nicholl Fellowships.
COURTING LUCREZIA received unanimously excellent reviews on Zoetrope.com - Francis Coppola's website for screenwriters. Following are typical examples:
"Overall, a great script. I laughed out loud. Characters were well fleshed out and not your typical stereotypes. Dracula and his servants were a nice touch, like taking Benny from The Mummy to the next level."
"Your story has a very clever premise: "bloodsucking attorneys"! There are many delightful moments, especially in dialogue, and the Russians are a nice touch as Dracula's assistants."
Drac’s back. This time he’s really dangerous . . . he’s an attorney! After 500 years wandering the world apart, star-crossed lovers, the notorious Dracula and sorceress Lucrezia Borgia, rekindle their romance and clash in a New York courtroom as opposing attorneys in a lawsuit where anything is possible
Dracula comes out of retirement to take a bite out of the Big Apple in a quirky, romantic comedy that pays homage to classic cinematic battles between the sexes.
Posing as Sir John Renfield, a successful English Barrister, Dracula's on a mysterious mission to Manhattan, to see a brilliant young scientist, Dr. Victor Potemkin. Victor has invented a miraculous serum that promises eternal life, but he's been cheated out of his discovery by his former employer, Evelyn Ferret, and her inept scientist boy-toy, Dr. Murray Cravenwitz. For reasons unknown to Victor at the time, Dracula agrees to represent him in a lawsuit.
Evelyn's attorney is Lucille Borget, known in legal circles as "The Barracuda," she's never lost a case. But Lucille has a dark secret. She's really the legendary sorceress Lucrezia Borgia - Dracula's lover from the sixteenth Century. They're shocked to find each other after crossing oceans of time and the flames of their passion are quickly rekindled. Only Dracula and Lucrezia know the secret of her eternal youth.
Lucille tries to persuade Dracula to settle Victor's case out of court, but she inadvertently makes light of his legal competency, and he's spoiling for a fight, so the strange case goes to trail. They agree to keep it friendly in court - no funny stuff, but they don't trust each other for a New York minute. Their verbal swordplay escalates into a supernatural donnybrook with hilarious consequences.
COURTING LUCREZIA gives the expression "bloodsucking attorney" a whole new meaning.