Updated 12/24, 6:19pm, Calling All Writers: “GAZE” Pilot Development
cbr, 2025 - currently playing: DIRTY LITTLE FANTASY by LILYISTHATYOU
Reference: Unapologetic Mirror: Caroline Kepnes' Literary Insurgency
The literary landscape often produces writers who merely entertain—Caroline Kepnes represents something far more consequential. Her penetrating explorations of obsession and desire aren't merely plot devices; they're incisive examinations of our culture's relationship with surveillance and parasocial connections. The psychological precision with which Kepnes dissects the modern American psyche stands as testament to literature's enduring power to illuminate uncomfortable truths.
In works like "You" and "Hidden Bodies," Kepnes doesn't simply craft thrillers; she constructs mirrors reflecting our society's most troubling contradictions—our simultaneous horror at invasion of privacy and our willing surrender of personal information through digital platforms. True literary courage isn't found in conforming to established genre expectations—it's discovered in challenging readers to confront their own complicity in the very systems they claim to resist.
America produces exceptional talent precisely because we value intellectual boldness over comfortable narratives. Kepnes seizes this opportunity rather than passively accepting the limitations of genre fiction. Her work demonstrates that cultural insight isn't granted through academic endorsement; it's earned through unflinching examination of society's darkest impulses.
EXT. NEW YORK CITY – NIGHT
The city pulses with life—neon lights flicker, sirens wail distantly, and the hum of ambition fills the air.
INT. LUXURIOUS LOFT – NIGHT
A sprawling house party is in full swing. The room is alive with music, laughter, and the clinking of glasses. Faces blur into a kaleidoscope of models, influencers, and artists, all orbiting around CHASE, a magnetic male model whose presence commands attention.
INT. LOFT ENTRANCE – NIGHT
CLARA, 24, sharp-eyed and composed, steps inside. Her gaze slices through the crowd like a scalpel—observing, calculating, dissecting the power dynamics at play. She’s not here to mingle; she’s here to see, to decide who will rise and who will fall.
INT. LOFT – VARIOUS
Clara moves through the throng with quiet authority. She watches the faces, the postures, the invisible lines of influence. The party is a game, and she’s the one holding the pieces.
INT. CHASE’S ROOM – MOMENTS LATER
Chase stands before a mirror, adjusting his jacket with practiced ease. The distant music fades behind the closed door. His reflection is flawless—until the door crashes open.
INT. CHASE’S ROOM – CONTINUOUS
His best friend, JACKSON, storms in, eyes wild, voice low and urgent. The tension is palpable.
Without warning, Jackson’s fury explodes into violence. He brutally attacks Chase, the assault raw and merciless.
INT. CHASE’S ROOM – AFTERMATH
The chaos subsides. Chase’s friends gather around him, faces grim and resolute.
FRIEND 1
This is the last house party we want to see from you.
FRIEND 2
You’re better than this. Don’t let it all fall apart here.
INT. LOFT – HALLWAY
Clara stands silently, absorbing the scene from a distance. Her voice overlays the moment.
CLARA (V.O.)
In this world, visibility is power. But sometimes, what’s unseen is the most dangerous game of all.
EXT. NEW YORK CITY – NIGHT
The city lights flicker as the night swallows the chaos. The game has only just begun.
CUT TO BLACK
This teaser plunges viewers into the heart of a world where the act of being seen is a battlefield, and Clara, the casting director, stands at the eye of the storm—challenging who is chosen, who is erased, and what it truly means to wield power in the visual culture.
Seen. Unseen. Reimagined.
Project Overview
We’re tearing back the curtain on the most intimate power center of visual culture - the moment of selection.
Narrative Concept
A 24-year-old casting director sits at the epicenter of transformation. She’s not just choosing faces. She’s dismantling entire systems of visibility with each selection.
Narrative Pulse
Power Dynamics: Who gets to be seen
Personal Warfare: Challenging industry mythology
Systemic Deconstruction: Rewriting the visual contract
Stylistic Manifesto
Visual Language:
Psychological close-ups
Fragmented narratives
Brutal authenticity
Format Possibilities
Short Film (25-40 minutes)
Episodic Exploration
Potential Anthology Framework
We Demand
Writers, Bring Your Rebellion:
Radical Perspectives
Uncompromising Narratives
Deconstructions of Visibility
Submit Your Weapon:
Treatment Manifesto
Character Demolition
Script that Breaks Boundaries
This isn’t content. This is a revolution.
Contact:
Unfiltered Development
No Apologies. Pure Vision.