Arthur Bell
67Fired Cashier
Thirty-one years in the same supermarket. He gets on the list because the refrigerator is empty, and the only prize he can see is groceries.
A Feature FilmA Dark Fable / Institutional Thriller
Once Upon
a List
One name can change a life.
A 67-year-old cashier pulled onto a public charity ranking starts wanting groceries for life — and learns that paper, image, and a small betrayal can move him all the way to the building that runs the list.
Written by Jonathan Ruppert. Full screenplay available to industry professionals on request.
The Logline
A 67-year-old cashier pulled onto a public charity ranking starts wanting groceries for life — and learns that paper, image, and a small betrayal can move him all the way to the building that runs the list.
- Genre
- Dark Fable / Institutional Thriller
- Format
- Feature Film
- Writer
- Jonathan Ruppert
- Screenplay
- Complete
SynopsisContinue to The Film
Some stories are written to be read.
Arthur Bell, 67, is fired from the supermarket where he has worked for thirty-one years. A foundation called Everafter puts his name on Once Upon a List, a public ranking that awards ten real prizes. He only wants Groceries for Life.
To stay inside the review pool he takes $1,500 from a mother trying to buy her daughter across the cutoff, then files the paperwork that knocks her out and moves him up. The institution photographs him beside a can of soup. He learns that a question on a form can press the woman holding the grocery seat.
Paper starts working. The modest prize starts to look small.
Inside the StoryEvery frame starts
Every frame starts
on the page.
The screenplay is complete. These are the worlds, rooms and faces the production is being built around.
Fired after thirty-one years, Arthur is placed on the list.
$1,500, a signature, and the paper starts working.
The building that runs the list was once his family's.
Where We Are
From script to screen.
- 01Complete
Screenplay
Final draft complete and circulating to producers and representation.
- 02In Progress
Attachment
Casting directors and department heads being approached for the shoot.
- 03TBD
Financing
Production partners reviewing the budget, schedule and package.
- 04TBD
Principal Photography
The shoot itself — location scouting opens once financing closes.
Production milestones shown as placeholder copy — dates and status will be updated as the film moves forward.
The CharactersFive Lives
Five Lives
A Single List
Each character is named for a different kind of fight the foundation's prize exposes.
Mara Vance
42Hospital Billing
She spends her days reopening other people's claims. Her son is down to a last refill. She is looking up the list, not down it.
Gloria Mott
71Retired Cafeteria Worker
She holds Groceries for Life because her pension covers the apartment and nothing else. She tells the truth on the form.
Ruth Danner
58Mother
Her daughter is one name below the cutoff, and her grandson sleeps on a motel floor. She thinks a cashier can be bought.
Noah Sloane
—The Reconciler
The man who reconciles the list after it locks. He does not recruit. He notices timing.
Industry AccessRequest
Request
the screenplay.
Producers, financiers, sales agents, festival programmers, casting directors and press can request the full screenplay and press kit. Tell us who you are and what you are looking for, and we will send the material straight back.
- Full screenplay PDF on request
- Director's statement and synopsis
- Press kit and key artwork
- Reply within two business days
Direct
Prefer email? Write to info@onceuponalist.com.
Script & Press Request
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The Next FrameBe part of the film
Be part of the film
from the first page.
Arthur Bell stops chasing groceries and starts chasing the building. If you want to help take this story to the screen, request the screenplay and let's talk about where it goes next.