TEAM SLEUTH

The dialogue is undoubtedly the strongest asset of this screenplay. The rapid-fire, pop-culture-soaked banter feels completely native to the generation it portrays.

Olive is a meaty lead role, while the part of Principal Buron, affable on the surface but quietly menacing underneath, will easily attract an experienced character actor.

A teen-led murder mystery comedy that blends the vibes of Booksmart, Knives Out, and Veronica Mars is a fantastic pitch. I love that the young heroine, Olive, solves the crime using actual grounded methodology rather than ridiculous action sequences. Discovering clues like gunpowder residue on an antique pistol, a mismatched shoe size, and timestamped receipts gives the mystery genuine puzzle pleasure. The twist that the accused hockey player's mother is the actual murderer, and his father helped cover it up, is a brilliant and dark subversion of the usual YA tropes.