When pent-up rage at her failure to achieve success as a writer causes Meg to snap and kill an old frenemy, she turns the crime into the bestselling novel that makes her career — only to find that murder is the only thing that inspires her.
Frustrated middle-aged screenwriter Meg is an insomniac who eats her feelings, working at a grueling set job by day alongside her aspiring-painter best friend Casey, and staying up all night writing scripts to send to agents who never read them. Until one does! Ambitious agent Edward says he can’t sell her scripts, but suggests she jump-start her career by writing a novel. The same day Meg’s discontent boils over and gets her fired, ambitious agent Edward invites her to meet…to tell her screenplays won’t sell. But, he asks, has she ever tried writing a novel? With Hollywood constantly looking for IP, he thinks a bestseller could be her — and maybe his — best chance at success. Meg turns for advice to Denyse, a former film school classmate turned wildly successful trashy romance novelist. But their boozy meet-up at Denyse’s fabulous penthouse opens old wounds, spiraling Meg into a rage that explodes into a slap that kills Denyse. Suddenly, Meg’s desperation becomes inspiration: she feverishly devises a cover-up of the crime, then writes all of it into a bestselling novel. She even gets Edward to let Casey design the cover. When the book is a hit, Meg wants to publish something more literary, but Edward says that first, she has to write a follow-up. Blocked again, Meg goes to a party with Casey, hoping to reconnect with Max, a former crush. She does, but when her fame takes the spotlight away from him, drunk Max turns violent, sending Meg into another murderous rage explosion. She’s able to make Max’s death look like an accident — a but true-crime podcaster who’s obsessed with Meg sees her leaving the scene of the crime. When Meg writes a smash new novel about the murder, the podcaster goes to the cops, but when they question Meg, Edward provides an alibi. As her success grows, the pain of what Meg’s done spirals her into pills, booze, and nightmares. Desperate to be happy, she tells Edward she'll get a new agent if he doesn’t publish her literary novel. When Edward refuses, promising to keep her secret if she keeps killing and writing, Meg murders Edward. Ten years later, Meg seems to have it all -- thanks to continuing to murder people and write about it. Casey is the one person who knows the truth about Meg, and loves and supports her anyway — helping Meg to accept that murder is, just as Edward said, her true talent.
Betsy is an award-winning Brooklyn-based writer and director. Since receiving her MFA from NYU, she has criss-crossed the country producing and directing documentaries (FLAT DADDY, about the impact of the war in Iraq on four military families from around the U.S., premiered at DOC NYC in 2011), produced and directed for hire on projects ranging from pieces for the Working Families Party and the Code Liberation Foundation, to those animal videos for The Dodo, to video letters for Nickelodeonʼs BLUE'S CLUES. Her editing credits include voter education videos in five languages and fund- and awareness-raising work for Family Equality, Brick Education, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Swing Left. Her most recent doc, THE HALLOWEEN HOUSE (2021), about how one man's (Tony Award-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire) obsession with scariness brings together his diverse neighborhood, will play at Lincoln Center's Diversity and Inclusion Film Festival in November 2024. Her episodic experience comes from 25+ years miking everyone from Carrie Bradshaw to Elmo as a location sound person on shows that include ELEMENTARY, THE SOPRANOS, THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL, and POSE. As a screenwriter, she writes thrillers and comedies with a dark side centered around women who won't take no for an answer. Her one-hour thriller pilot PRICELESS was selected in 2023 for the Stowe Narrative Lab & the Writers Lab NYC, and in 2024 for the Nostos Screenwriting retreats and The Women’s List. Her comedy-thriller screenplay SHE DONE IT was a semi-finalist for the 2024 Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship and was selected for the 2024 Cinestory Feature Retreat.
