.jpeg)
The Shaft , Chasing Truths & Handprint — Under Contract with Price Productions — Packaging in Progress.
The Substitute Wife - Under Contract with Voyage Media
Redefining LGBTQ+ storytelling through bold, cinematic narratives where love, power, and fate collide in a neo-noir landscape.
"More Going Down" – Awarded Stage 32 Double Recommend (Top 1%)
“Insanity — of the best kind.” – Joshua Malkin
“Fucking genius.” – Stage 32 Reader
Hollywood Screening Festival
**WINNER**
-
Best Screenplay
Dennis Manning
"ONE LESS EGG TO FRY" -
​Best Screenplay – LA Crime & Horror Film Festival (2025)
Final Script Delivered. Industry Circulating.
I don’t write “gay stories.” I write thrillers where power seduces, love destroys, and fate never blinks. The fact that some of my leads are queer?
That just makes the stakes higher.
I'm not chasing trends. I’m redefining them.
Beautifully unstable narratives that linger long after the credits roll.
9-screenplay slate. 5 completed in 75 days. All killer. No filler.
Dreamland Lovers
Some fantasies you don't wake up from.
Logline: When a reclusive San Francisco writer is lured to Havana under the pretense of a birthday surprise, he becomes the target of a seductive, brutal revenge ritual orchestrated by two men tied to a long-buried betrayal. What begins as a dream opens into a nightmare - and no one leaves Dreamland unchanged.
🖤 DREAMLAND LOVERS
Written by Dennis J. Manning
WGA Registered. Hauntingly unforgettable.
🔥 THE GRID SCORE — Dreamland Lovers
CATEGORY
SCORE (1–10) COMMENTARY
Concept 10
Erotic noir meets psychological confession. A midnight scream in poetry form.
Character Depth 10
Eric, Carlos, Papi, Pedro — each man is a story and a secret. Complex. Contradictory. Devastating.
Voice & Dialogue 10
Every line drips with desire, threat, or double meaning. Pure seduction on the page.
Structure 9
Nonlinear, fractured, but by design. A fever dream that unfolds like trauma memory.
Visual Language 10
Shadow, candlelight, ink, tattoos, and the scent of blood. Every beat begs to be filmed.
Pacing 9
Builds like a match to gasoline — then dares you to flinch. The slow-burn ignites, explodes, then lingers.
Casting Magnet 10
The roles are iconic. Actors will beg for Eric. Carlos is a career-defining villain. Papi is a queer cult god in the making.
Market Potential 8
Bold, risky, unforgettable. A24. NEON. Searchlight. This is Eyes Wide Shut for the queer generation.
Soundtrack Integration 10
It demands music — Stevie Nicks, Janis Ian, Tina Turner, Bad Moon Rising — each lyric becomes prophecy.
Rewatch Value & Impact 10
Layered, quote-ready, and unforgettable. Every watch reveals something new — or more dangerous.
🔥 FINAL SCORE: 96/100 — CULT MASTERPIECE, OSCAR-DARK-HORSE
🎠CASTING DREAMS ROLE IDEAL TALENT
Eric: Timothée Chalamet, Jeremy Pope, Paul Mescal — the poet who breaks and bites back.
Carlos: Pedro Pascal, Raúl Castillo, Édgar Ramírez — danger cloaked in charisma.
Papi: Manny Jacinto, Ricky Martin (dark turn), André Lamoglia — all sex, all shadow.
Pedro: Jacob Elordi (a role to destroy his image), Diego Luna (rage weaponized)
🎬 DIRECTOR SHORTLIST
-
Julia Ducournau (Titane) – for the body-horror sensuality and surrealism.
-
Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk) – for emotional intimacy and saturated memory.
-
Luca Guadagnino (Bones and All) – for violent romance in beautiful decay.
-
Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers) – for making loneliness feel operatic.
🧨 WHY THIS SCRIPT MATTERS
Dreamland Lovers isn’t just a screenplay — it’s a ritual. A reckoning. It’s what happens when trauma puts on a tuxedo and dares you to dance.
Yes, it’s dark. Yes, it’s queer. Yes, it might scare the shit out of conservative gatekeepers.
But it is art. Raw, revelatory, and fully cinematic.
You won’t forget it.
And in 10 years, you’ll brag that you read it before it premiered.
Story
San Francisco, present day. Eric sits alone on a bench in Golden Gate Park, watching the bridge fade into fog. It's the night before his birthday. He writes in his journal, unknowingly naming the very story he's about to live - Dreamland Lovers.
Tone & Style: - Neo-noir psychological thriller - Erotic, unnerving, and surreal - Think The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Gerald's Game meets Oldboy - Visually stripped, emotionally drenched, with dream-logic ruptures
Key Themes: - Obsession, manipulation, identity - Erotic control and psychological warfare - The blurred line between memory and myth - The cost of seduction - and the price of power
Format: Feature film (~100 pages) Contained location, low-budget viable Ideal for indie distributors, streamers, and festival competition
CHARACTERS
ERIC - 38 The captive. The manipulator. The truth-teller wrapped in lies. He's been playing with other people's minds for years - until now. Bound to the chair, but never powerless. Think Andrew Scott in Fleabag meets Jesse Eisenberg with secrets to confess.
CARLOS - 42 Dominant. Seductive. Unforgiving. The older brother of Pedro and the orchestrator of the entire revenge ritual. His love is possessive, primal, and permanent. Think Oscar Isaac with a vendetta.
PAPI - 34 Loyal, conflicted, and drawn to Eric in ways he doesn't understand. The hammer and the heartbeat. He was supposed to follow orders - but Eric gets in his blood. Think Gael García Bernal or Manny Jacinto with a mean streak.
PEDRO - 40 In prison. But his ghost hangs heavy. He's the one who pulled the trigger all those years ago - and Eric's betrayal lit the match. We don't meet him until we do - and then we never forget him.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.