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Eight Hundred Grand (Thriller / Drama)

Log Line

Eight Hundred Grand is a "hard-boiled" noir mystery set against the seedy backdrop of Los Angeles. Hired to solve a seemingly simple missing person case, detective Mike Fiske finds himself involved with something much more complicated-- and with a religious zealot, corrupt cops, champion boxers on the take, and a powerful, psychopathic casino owner.

Script Info

Script Type: Feature
Genre: Thriller / Drama
Est. Budget: Less than $1M

Screenplay Synopsis

Eight Hundred Grand is a "hard-boiled," modern day film noir set against the seedy backdrop of the Los Angeles underworld. Hired to solve a seemingly simple missing person case, detective Mike Fiske finds himself involved with something much more complicated-- and with religious zealots, corrupt cops, champion boxers on the take, and a powerful psychopathic casino owner.

Running from loan sharks, in debt to his landlord, unable to pay his secretary, and in the middle of a losing streak at the craps table, Mike Fiske jumps at the chance to make a quick buck when Faith Aston wants to hire him to find her missing cousin, Melanie. After a quick investigation they find her, murdered.

Mike's investigation into Melanie's background leads him to the lowest, darkest corners of Los Angeles; to a strip club where she used to work, filled with desperate prostitutes, to a few "clients" she used to work for, including a hot tempered, drug abusing boxing champion and a lunatic religious zealot, and smack into the apathetic police who know Mike, don't like him, won't help him, and warn him to get off the case. But Mike won't stop, he needs the money-- and he's starting to fall for Faith. So Mike keeps rolling the dice, still without any luck.

By the time Mike figures out who killed Melanie, he's uncovered a series of fixed boxing matches, found an ex-champion trying to get revenge-- outside the ring, and stands face to face with a casino owner in control of the whole damn town. He runs to the police and their apathy turns to corruption. A payoff is offered. Faith refuses. Torn between life and love, Mike steps up to the craps table and gives the indifferent dice one last roll...

Eight Hundred Grand is the story of one man's struggle to make meaning in an indifferent world. It's an existential journey through the streets and alleys of Los Angeles where the only real meaning comes from personal choice and self-sacrifice, and probably means nothing in the grand scheme of things. "Eight hundred grand. It's not much, really. In fact it's nothing to a guy like Darius Sabak. But it's a hell of a lot to me."