On a river run, two kayakers discover a soggy journal containing clues to a kidnap victim's location and hatch a plan to rescue her.

SYNOPSIS:

Contests: UP THE RIVER was selected as a quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Cinematic 2017 Short Story Contest and a quarterfinalist in the 2018 Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards.

NOTES FROM THE AGENT:

Combining suspense, adventure, and real danger, this is a fast-paced story where a college All-American lacrosse player kayaks Up the River to save a kidnapped girl. Up the River has two breakout role possibilities and strong protagonists, with contemporary millennial appeal.

NOTES FROM COVERAGE: ‘Consider’ rating. Good chemistry between hero/protagonist and kidnapped victim. The script easily pulls the audience into the protagonist’s world and it’s effortless to care about and root for him.

Synopsis: JOSH WHITLOCK, millennial, ex-college lacrosse star works for an international hi-tech company when he’s let go. To shake it off, he connects with his best friend BRAD, a Deputy Sheriff, and they take a kayak trip.

Rapids, wildlife, and gorges, they relish the serenity. Until Josh spots something floating in the river and retrieves a baggie which contains a leather-bound journal. He cracks it open and reads bits of the girly journal, and it’s too much for Brad, who threatens to Taser Josh if he keeps it up.

But the deeper they get into the journal, the more chilled they become: the last three pages reveal pleas of a kidnapped girl with a variety of clues as to where she may be held captive.

Brad must return to the grind, but Josh decides to stay behind to try to find the girl and he does. Ever the Eagle Scout and college lacrosse star, Josh fashions a lacrosse stick weapon that he uses in a fight to the finish with with kidnapper. Just like David and Goliath, Josh knocks the kidnapper unconscious and saves the girl.

Enter, Mary Beth. Josh is seriously wounded in his battle with the kidnapper. Mary Beth is no longer a damsel in distress and steps up to save them both. But they’re being watched. The escape pace quickens as we flashback to Mary Beth's discovery of skeletal remains of previous victims.

She takes charge and leads the way through the dense forest to the safety of Josh’s Subaru camp. Josh does not see the kidnapper’s camouflaged pickup truck on the opposing bank until his shoulder is shattered by rifle fire. Josh and the girl are sitting ducks.

Counter fire from newly arrived Deputy Sheriff Brad and National Forest Rangers subdue the kidnapper. The girl is saved, but Josh will never again fling a 100 mph lacrosse shot. He barely survives a medically induced coma.

THREE YEARS LATER

Josh finds his calling - head coach of Pittsburgh Central’s high school lacrosse team. It’s the state championship. Brad and the girl are in the stands with their newborn son.

After a tough loss in the final seconds, Josh reassures his All-State goalie and introduces him to the nation's top college lacrosse coach.