Script Synopsis of THE COMBINATION

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TITLE: THE COMBINATION          FORM: Screenplay/111

AUTHOR: Mike Teitelbaum         READER: S. Sobel

FACT/FICTION: Fiction           LOCALE: Various

GENRE: Action Thriller          CIRCA: Present

BUDGET: Medium

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                       EXCELLENT   GOOD FAIR POOR

WRITER RECOMMENDATION:          SOLICIT ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

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Log Line:

A newspaper reporter must rescue his kidnapped daughter from the grips of a ruthless Syrian terrorist who is building a plant to manufacture nuclear weapons.

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COMMENTS SUMMARY:

A political, action thriller with dynamic action sequences, a tight storyline, and a fair amount of humor thrown in for good measure. Similar to the best of the James Bond films, our hero is continually thrust from one high stakes situation to the next, each one building in danger and intensity. The main character is likable and well-drawn... we empathize with a normal guy thrust into this unusual situation. The writer keeps a smart balance between the action and the more emotional elements of the story. The strong, likable characters draw us into the story and give it color and style. THE COMBINATION is certainly worth strong consideration for an action feature.

Synopsis:

Richard Remington, a newspaper journalist, leaves his fourteen year old daughter Aisha in Geneva for an assignment.  After interviewing a friend at the Syrian Trading Company in Munich, he passes the gorgeous Renate Stubeneuser on her way into the building.  Moments later, the building explodes.  He rushes over to the dying Renate.  In her last breaths, she hands Richard a decorator combination lock and whispers the first few numbers of the combination before expiring.

            Unknown to Richard, the code required to activate a Syrian nuclear bomb factory is secreted within the lock, which Richard hangs like a locket on a chain around his neck. 

            As Richard leaves the site of the explosion, he is seen by Ahmet Zeydan, a Turkish terrorist.  The Turks and Syrians have been long-time enemies who share a disputed border.  Richard immediately becomes the object of the Turks, Syrians and the CIA, all who seek the code for their own purposes.   

            After being detained at the Munich police station, Richard scurries to the Paris office of the New York Herald, where his editor warns Richard to stay off the story of the explosion. 

            The Turks track Richard to Paris, kill his girlfriend and give chase to him through the streets of Paris.  In a hail of bullets, the CIA saves him from the Turks, but Richard keeps mum about the lock. 

            Rushing to Geneva to protect his daughter, Richard arrives just after the Syrians kidnap Aisha and carry her off to Damascus.  Richard is given 48 hours to turn over the code to the Syrians or they will kill Aisha. 

            Before he can leave Geneva, Richard is captured by the Turks, who must prevent him from delivering the code to the Syrians.  During his escape from them, Richard rescues Monica, a Syrian secret agent posing as a travel agent.  Together, they head for Damascus.  While passing through the Swiss Alps, the Turks rocket their train.  Monica and Richard heroically detach the burning engine and save the hundreds of passengers from sure death. 

            Monica, falling for Richard, renounces her Syrian connection, disguises Richard as a woman, and helps him sneak into Syria, where he overcomes his fear of water, rescues Aisha, destroys the nuclear bomb factory, steals a Cessna plane, avoids Syrian fighter planes and lands on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. 

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Writer's Resume:

Mike Teitelbaum, the screenwriter, has written and published two books now in print, will have his third book published in the spring, 2007, and he has had three of his screenplays optioned. THE COMBINATION is the first of a trilogy.  The treatment of the sequel has been written. 

Screenwriter's note:  Please note that Remington is in every scene and that his fear of water is the underlying theme.  In the end he must overcome this fear to save his daughter.

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