The Red Zone

SCIENCE-FICTION

A mysterious and nearly indestructible football running back with fragmented memories and traumatic dreams entrusts a determined beat reporter to help find his murky origins, a conspiracy, an unfathomable experiment, and the devastating truth of his dominance.

Notes on the Screenplay:

This screenplay explores identity, autonomy, and the ethical limits of science through the story of Robert Pettibone, a superhuman athlete uncovering the truth about his origins. As his body fails without experimental treatments, Pettibone must confront the reality of being a product of an unethical secretive experiment.

The emotional core lies in his evolving relationship with Cali, whose investigation drives the story forward. Dr. Meng and Dr. Qay represent opposing scientific ideologies, with Meng’s ambivalence marking a turning point in Pettibone’s transformation from passive subject to active agent.

Balancing action, mystery, and emotional stakes, the screenplay poses a central question: if your life was engineered, can you still claim it as your own? In the end, Pettibone’s fight for survival becomes a fight for agency and a future shaped by choice, not design.

Status: In Development

Team:

• Writer & Producer: Terry Podnar

• Producer: Jean-François Cavelier

• Poster & Concept Art: John Adam White

Status: In Development

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Recognition:

2025 Awards:

• New York Int’l Film Awards - Best Sci-Fi Script

• Kraken Int’l Film Festival - Finalist

• Oniros Film Awards - Best Sci-Fi Script

• Vegas Movie Awards - Best Original Story - Award of Excellence

• Vegas Movie Awards - Semi-Finalist for Best Feature Script

• Palermo Int’l Film Festival - Best Unproduced Feature Script

• New York Screenwriting Awards - Best Feature Screenplay USA Winner

• Cambridge Script Festival - Finalist

• Best Script Awards London - Finalist

• Breaking Walls Thriller Screenplay Competition - Top Finalist

• HollywoodGenre Sci-Fi Screenplay Competition - Top Finalist

• LA Int’l Cinema Awards - Best Feature Script

• New York Int’l Screenplay Awards - Finalist

• Indie Vegas Film Festival - Best Sci-Fi/Drama Feature Screenplay

• Paris Film Awards - Gold Award HWinner

• HollywoodGenre Action Screenplay Competition - Finalist

• Filmmatic Inroads Fellowship Screenwriting Competition - Semi-Finalist

• 4th Dimension Independent Film Festival - Best Feature Script

• Art of Brooklyn Film Festival Screenplay Competition - Semi-Finalist

• San Jose Independent Film Festival - Best Screenplay Feature

• Vancouver Int’l Film Awards - Best Feature Screenplay

• On Coverfly’s The Red List - Top 1% of Discoverable Projects

• Hollywood Blood Horror Festival - Best Original Screenplay

• Palm Springs Int’l Screenplay Awards - Semi-Finalist

• Page Int’l Screenwriting Awards - Quarter-Finalist*

• New York Script Awards - Finalist

• London Movie Awards - Best Feature Script

• Filmmakers Connect Awards (FCA) - Best Screenplay

• New York Film Awards - Best Sci-Fi Screenplay

• Flickers’ Rhode Island Int’l Film Festival - Semi-Finalist

• Richmond Int’l Film Festival - Finalist

• WRPN.tv Sci-Fi Horror & Action Int’l Film Festival - Rhodium Award (Top Award)

• Luis Bunuel Memorial Awards - Best Feature Script

• Filmmakers Connect Awards (FCA) - Best Screenplay Winner

• Berlin Motion Pictures Awards - Best Feature Script

• Cult Critic Movie Awards - Best Feature Script

2024 Awards:

• Seattle Independent Film Festival - Best Feature Screenwriting

• Script Symphony Award - Best Script

• Golden Pen Script Awards - Best Creative Writer

• Zeal Int’l Film Festival - Winner for Best Feature Script

• Red Moon Int’l Film Festival - Best Feature Screenwriting

• Cult Movies Int’l Film Festival - Best Feature Screenwriting

• Movie Play Int’l Film Festival - Winner for Best Screenplay

• Manhattan Film Festival - Finalist

• Humro Cinema Film Fest - Best Feature Screenplay

• Filmovia Int’l Film Festival - Best Feature Script

• London Int’l Filmmakers Festival - Best Unproduced Feature Script

• Los Angeles Int’l Screenplay Awards - Semi-Finalist

• HollywoodGenre Sci-Fi Screenplay Competition - Top Finalist

*The Page Int'l Screenwriting Awards is one of the top 10 screenwriting competitions in the United States with over 9,100 entries in 2025.