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SCREENWRITER

Current WIP

EQUALIZING RESERVOIR
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About
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BIO

Joel McElvaney is a produced screenwriter specializing in taut thrillers and action comedies. Co-writer of the comedy/mystery short MURDER AT THE WRITERS RETREAT (IMDB). Known for taking a screenwriting workshop from William Goldman in college then waiting 30 years to start his screenwriting career. 

 

A former high school English teacher and screenwriting instructor, McElvaney has garnered accolades for his fantasy/comedy DRAGONS OF THE GLOAMING, a Top 5 Finalist in the Save the Cat! Screenplay Challenge; his dystopian thriller TWISTED JUSTICE, a Semi-Finalist in the Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition; and his risqué TV pilot THE PINEAPPLE CHRONICLES, a 2nd-rounder at the Austin Film Festival.

 

McElvaney is an active member of the screenwriting community in Seattle where he lives with his wife Kate. 

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On this site you’ll find thumbnail posters of his original screenplays, along with a brief logline. Click “Learn More” to see a Synopsis and Pitchdeck. You can also Click to Request the Full Script or just the First 15 Pages.

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FEATURES
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LOGLINE: When three nerdy friends and one reluctant sister get zapped into a fantasy role-playing game, they have three days to discover a mystical castle and defeat a deadly dragon or be trapped in the game world forever. 

LOGLINE: Ready to leave her husband after spying him with another woman, a skeptical wife instead goes on the run with him when his shady client sends a hitman to kill them both.  

LOGLINE:The best friend of a bullied outcast who's seeking violent revenge on his longtime tormentor must choose between helping his friend or saving the bully.

My Books

LOGLINE: In a near-future dystopia, the granddaughter of a Supreme Court justice, pregnant from a sexual assault, attempts to leave her forced-birth state to get an abortion, but is caught by a vigilante group and sent to a “Life Mall."

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LOGLINE: While secretly living in strangers’ homes to evade capture by her ultra-religious parents, a frightened trans teen witnesses a crime she cannot ignore.

LOGLINE: Forced to stay with their ex-convict dad for a summer, two boys discover a dark family secret that leads them to run away rather than return to their mom and abusive stepfather.

LOGLINE: When an intruder crashes a newlywed couple's secluded honeymoon claiming the new husband murdered his sister five years ago (on her honeymoon), the new wife is faced with an impossible choice.

LOGLINE: A struggling actress, whose aging grandparents are drowning in medical debt and about to lose their house, decides to rob a bank to pay off the debt and save the family home.

SHORTS
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LOGLINE: A withdrawn woman with a facial birthmark discovers an unexpected joy and freedom when a global pandemic hits and everyone is masked. Then mask requirements end, testing her newfound happiness.

LOGLINE: A young van-life couple's peaceful weekend getaway is disturbed by news of an escaped serial killer with a terrifying prosthetic.

TV/streaming

LOGLINE: An overworked, sexually-frustrated wife
 convinces her reluctant husband to explore the bizarre, often hilarious world of swinging in order to stave off marital boredom and save their marriage.

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LOGLINE: When cops get stumped, wives get suspicious, or someone’s life gets so disturbed they can barely function, the residents of this small town turn to Ivy, a fairy-obsessed eccentric with uncanny abilities.

MILESTONES

CLICK ON the BLACK BAR above,

then SCROLL DOWN to find Oct. 13 Interview

first PODCAST INTERVIEW

Matthew Toffolo of WILDsound interviews

screenwriter Joel McElvaney about his Top-5 Finalist

DRAGONS OF THE GLOAMING

on October 13, 2020. 

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CLICK ON the black bar above,

then scroll down to Oct. 13

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FIRST IMDB CREDIT

Earned an IMDB CREDIT as Co-Writer (among several)

and Boom Operator for Murder at the Writers Retreat

Filmed at Kim Hornsby’s Screenwriters Retreat

on Whidbey Island, Washington in May, 2025

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Press

socials

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NEWS

  • TWISTED JUSTICE named Quarterfinalist in ISA's Emerging Screenwriters Screenplay Contest

  • THE PHROGGER named Quarterfinalist in ISA Emerging Screenwriters Drama Competition

  • THE PHROGGER entered in Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. (mid-Sept. Announcement)

  • THE HOOK entered in HorrOrigins (Sept. 14 Announcement)

  • THE PHROGGER entered in Story Farm Fellowship (Aug. 13) and BarnstormFest (Dec. 14)

JDM

678-314-0213

Seattle, Washington

© 2025 by Joel McElvaney                                       Powered and secured by Wix

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