Run Cholo Run: Feature Film Screenplay Intro
Be part of the process of making the story great - You are our superfans!
Writing is a process. "Run Cholo Run" was originally the middle story in a trilogy of short films about a young man graduating out of a group home when he turned 18. I was inspired by The Bourne Supremacy and wanted to make a car chase. I wanted the two characters in the car to have lots of conflict with no escape.
The story grew, and now in the feature film, Juancho joins the Marines to get away from his crime family, but war is hell and he gets sent home. The screenplay is currently 92 pages = 92 minutes, since screenplay format is designed to be 1 page = 1 minute of screen time. See what happens in the opening scene, below.
Origin of the feature story - the writers.
But first, I want you to meet the writers. Korstiaan ‘Kors’ Vandiver wrote the first draft, I wrote the second draft, and we polished it until it was good. Here’s a short interview where Kors and I discuss the origins. But Run Cholo Run can’t be great until we get the voice, heart and perspective of a born-and-raised in Los Angeles, Mexican-American Latina: Tanya “Cha Cha” Sandoval-McMahon.
Korstiaan "Kors" Vandiver is an award-winning filmmaker best known for his work producing in multiple roles and even giving script notes on the Sundance Film Fest winner, The Birth of a Nation, the highest-selling black-led film in the fest's history. He is currently working on the stories of civil rights hero and heroine, Medgar and Myrlie Evers. Kors’ feature directorial debut, Gym Rat, will screen at Marche du Film at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. KorstiaanVandiver.com.
Ian Max Eyre specializes in writing, directing and stunt coordinating from a left-brained perspective, with over 100 credits on IMDb. His main focus is feature films and he’s attached to direct the teen thriller Prey for Mason and is developing a teen action/adventure Smash and Run and re-releasing his Western Vengeance Trail. His YouTube channel has 27,000+ subscribers 33 million+ views. He is known for writing “Scooby Doo on steroids.” EyreFilms.com.
Tanya “Cha-Cha” Sandoval-McMahon began her career as a classical singer, then became “the original action actress” according to actor Clint Eastwood, eventually founding United Stuntwomen’s Association. She became the first regularly paid Latina at the world famous Comedy Store and Hollywood Improv, and co-produced the successful “Funny Ladies of Color” comedy show. Cha Cha has been working steadily in the entertainment business as a standup comic, song impressionist, writer, actress, and producer for over three decades.
#RunCholo Community
You are invited to be part of a growing community surrounding “Run Cholo Run” which has over 2 million views on YouTube and 6000+ followers on FaceBook. This link takes you to the viral video that supports “Lean Like a Cholo” by Down AKA Kilo, but if you’d like to support RunCholo, please use this link to view and share “Run Cholo Run.”
Weekly screenplay pages
I will try to post a few screenplay pages each week, but it all depends on how much your feedback ripples through the story and causes changes. For starters, it doesn’t make sense to start the movie in Afghanistan now that the United States has pulled completely out of there. I guess, if the pages suck, I can always post better pages the next week.
Also note, since there’s a WGA writers’ strike going on (as of May11, 2023), I will be posting existing pages but not rewriting at this moment. Since this Substack is already long, I’ll post the first 6 pages in a new message.
Best, Ian Max
To Start: Pages 1-6 here!