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Surfridge

Decades after the seaside community of Surfridge was erased to make way for LAX, Detective Sam Grimaldi must face the ghosts of his past and a string of murders that force him to uncover both the town’s buried history and the truth about the woman he once loved

The story begins with archival footage of the lost community of Surfridge, once a thriving neighborhood on the Pacific bluffs. We meet Sam Grimaldi, a hard-bitten cop haunted by childhood memories of Surfridge’s destruction and by his relationship with Ginny Fontaine. When bodies surface on the desolate land in 2006, Sam is pulled into a chilling investigation that exposes long-suppressed secrets: corruption, betrayal, and Ginny’s dark role in the cycle of violence. The narrative blends noir detective tropes with supernatural echoes — blue butterflies, ghostly playgrounds, and memories of children lost — creating a meditation on guilt, love, and the way a place refuses to die.

Format:
Screenplay
Genres:
Starring Roles For:
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jessica Chastain
In the Vein Of:
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Posted:
09/19/2025
Updated:
09/19/2025
Author Bio:
DANA WALL - Psychology/MBA/CPA/MFA powerhouse who managed Hollywood chaos before becoming full-time writer in 2022. Daughter of psychiatrist father and PhD English teacher/lawyer mother—basically raised in a think tank where Freud met Shakespeare met legal briefs. Turns industry insider knowledge into sharp fiction, poetry, and short screenplays, full length screenplays, TV pilots that audit souls and expose power's true cost.

Contest Results:
Emerging Screenwriters (Semifinalist) [2023]
Scriptapalooza Features/Shorts (Quarterfinalist) [2022]
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