Daniel and his mother move from New Jersy to California. She has a wonderful new job but Daniel discovers that a dark haired Italian boy with a Jersey accent doesn’t fit into the blond surfer crowd, especially when he tries to date one of their girl friends. Daniel manages to talk his way out of some fights but is finally cornered by several who belong to the same karate school. As Daniel is passing out from the beating he sees Miyagi, the elderly gardner leap into the fray and save him by outfighting a half dozen teenagers. Miyagi and Daniel find the real motivator behind the boys’ violent attitude is the their karate teacher. Miyagi promises to teach Daniel to fight and arranges a fight at a karate contest some months off. When his training begins, Daniel can’t understand what he is being shown. Miyagi seems more interested in having Daniel paint fences and wax cars than teaching him Karate. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

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During the Great Depression, a common-man hero, James J. Braddock–a.k.a. the Cinderella Man–was to become one of the most surprising sports legends in history. By the early 1930s, the impoverished ex-prizefighter was seemingly as broken-down, beaten-up and out-of-luck as much of the rest of the American populace who had hit rock bottom. His career appeared to be finished, he was unable to pay the bills, the only thing that mattered to him–his family–was in danger, and he was even forced to go on Public Relief. But deep inside, Jim Braddock never relinquished his determination. Driven by love, honor and an incredible dose of grit, he willed an impossible dream to come true. In a last-chance bid to help his family, Braddock returned to the ring. No one thought he had a shot. However Braddock, fueled by something beyond mere competition, kept winning. Suddenly, the ordinary working man became the mythic athlete. Carrying the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised on his shoulders, Braddock rocketed through the ranks, until this underdog chose to do the unthinkable: take on the heavyweight champ of the world, the unstoppable Max Baer, renowned for having killed two men in the ring. Written by Sujit R. Varma

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When a crusading chairperson of the military budget committee pressures the would be Navy secretary to begin full gender integration of the service, he offers the chance for a test case for a female trainee in the elite Navy SEALS commando force. Lt. Jordan O’Niel is given the assignment, but no one expects her to succeed in an inhumanly punishing regime that has a standard 60% dropout rate for men. However, O’Niel is determined to prove everyone wrong. Written by Kenneth Chisholm {kchishol@execulink.com}

In order to generate more endorsement revenue, Champion City’s resident superhero Captain Amazing arranges for the release of supervillian Casanova Frankenstein, only to be captured by him. The city’s fate rests in the hands of seven loser superhero wannabes: the fork-flinging Blue Rajah, the shovel-wielding Shoveler, the posessed bowling ball-hurling Bowler, the flatulent Spleen, the only-when-nobody’s-looking Invisible Boy, the mysterious Sphinx, and the perpetually-angry Mr. Furious. Written by Jeff Cross {blackjac_1998@yahoo.com}

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A sweet-natured Italian waiter named Pistachio Disguisey at his father Fabbrizio’s restaurant, who happens to be a member of a family with supernatural skills of disguise. But moments later the patriarch of the Disguisey family is kidnapped Fabbrizio’s former arch-enemy, Devlin Bowman, a criminal mastermind in an attempt to steal the world’s most precious treasures from around the world. And it’s up to Pistachio to track down Bowman and save his family before Bowman kills them! Written by Anthony Pereyra (hypersonic91@yahoo.com)

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Fleeing the evil Galactic Empire, the rebels abandon their new base on Hoth. Princess Leia, Han Solo and the droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 escape in the damaged Millenium Falcon, but are later captured by Lord Darth Vader on Bespin. Skywalker, meanwhile, follows Ben Kenobi’s posthumous command and receives Jedi training by Yoda on Dagobah. Will Skywalker manage to rescue his friends from the dark lord? Written by James Pearce {james.pearce@cs.man.ac.uk}

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A moving tale about the power of the human spirit, Peaceful Warrior is based on Dan Millman’s perennially best-selling autobiographical novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. In the film, Scott Mechlowicz plays Dan, a talented-yet-arrogant college gymnast with Olympic dreams and a golden future. The athlete thinks he has it all: bookcases of trophies, endless friends, fast rides and disposable relationships. But all that is about to change. One day, Dan’s world is turned upside down after a chance meeting with a mysterious stranger he comes to know as Socrates (Nick Nolte)-a man who holds the power to tap into new worlds of strength and understanding. After he suffers a debilitating injury, with the mystical help of Socrates and an elusive young woman named Joy (Amy Smart), Dan will grow to realize that strength of spirit is what leads a man to his true greatness. From a screenplay by Kevin Bernhardt, Peaceful Warrior is directed by Victor Salva and produced by Mark Amin, Cami Winikoff, Robin Schorr and David Welch.

Suburban Virginia schools have been segregated for generations, in sight of the Washington Monument over the river in the nation’s capital. One Black and one White high school are closed and the students sent to T.C. Williams High School under federal mandate to integrate. The year is seen through the eyes of the football team where the man hired to coach the Black school is made head coach over the highly successful white coach. Based on the actual events of 1971, the team becomes the unifying symbol for the community as the boys and the adults learn to depend on and trust each other. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

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Frank Dux has spent most his life being trained by Tanaka to participate in the Kumite, the ultimate martial arts tournament, where participants are seriously injured, even killed. Frank decides to go despite being told by his superiors in the army that he can’t because they need him. Two army officers are sent to get him and the trail leads to Hong Kong but Frank eludes them. While Frank advances, he knows that he may have to face Chong Li, the defending champion, who has killed a few participants. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

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