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Logline

An unknown screenwriter takes a job at a shabby gay porn studio, where he attempts to prove himself as a storyteller by punching up the uninspired scripts.

Synopsis

Aspiring writer-actor Tommi Sunshine is unemployed in Hollywood, and his artist visa is about to expire. Desperate for work, he auditions at a gay porn studio called “Thrust House” — but the boss, Richard, deems Tommi too unattractive to perform. Instead, he’s offered a job as the studio janitor for $19 an hour.

At the studio — a kind of purgatory for lost souls — Tommi forms unlikely friendships with his coworkers: Charli, a laid-back performer with secret singing aspirations; Henry, a sculpted power top who’s a pushover in real life; Rocky, a mild-mannered director whose parents mortgaged their home to put him through film school; and Olive, a sarcastic producer’s assistant running on a cocktail of pharmaceuticals.

Appalled by the porn scripts’ plot holes and clunky dialogue, Tommi pitches rewrites to the boss — and is viciously shut down. But he worms his way in anyway, convincing Rocky to let him tweak a scene so Charli can showcase his singing. With Tommi script-supervising and roping his coworkers into the bit, it turns out to be the best scene the studio’s ever done. But when Brayden Bosh, a flashy influencer, dangles the promise of a real movie deal, Tommi convinces himself this was all just a stepping stone. He warns his new friends to “soak me up while you can.”

When that dream collapses, Tommi spirals — breaking sobriety, pushing away the people closest to him, and declaring himself done as an artist. It takes his friends refusing to let him quit to remind him that being a writer was never about “making it”… it was about having something to say.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Scott J. Ross — Director
Scott J. Ross is a Los Angeles–based filmmaker. His comedic short films and series have premiered at Sundance (“Deer Squad,” 2017) and the Tribeca Film Festival (“Hey, Joe,” 2023; “The Adventures of Jamel,” 2015). He’s developed, directed, and edited digital series for Netflix, The New York Times, the LA Times, Syfy, and Super Deluxe. He’s also produced several feature-length fine art films for artist-director Alex Da Corte, including “Easternsports,” “Rubber Pencil Devil,” and “ROY G BIV,” presented at the Whitney Biennial, MoMA, and the Venice Biennale.

Bobbi Summers — Writer/Star
Bobbi Summers is a Toronto-born comedian, writer, musician, and actor known for his unapologetic, boundary-pushing humor and offbeat creative style. Summers is the creator, writer, and star of the acclaimed CBC and World of Wonder series “I Hate People, People Hate Me,” which played at Tribeca Film Festival (2024), and won at the Canadian Screen Awards and Indie Series Awards. As a comic, Bobbi has headlined at Just For Laughs festival and opened for superstars Beth Stelling, Tom Hearn, and Hacks writer Pat Regan, who has shouted out Bobbi as one of his favorite new voices in comedy.

Conor Fetting-Smith — Producer
Conor Fetting-Smith is a producer/director and founder of the production company Loon Island. His work in film and television for Netflix, Apple, Paramount and others has been short-listed for the Academy Award, Emmy nominated, and honored by the world’s top festivals including Tribeca, Telluride, Venice, and New York Film Festivals. Producing credits include: Scouts Honor (Netflix), Web of Make Believe (Netflix), Coded (Paramount+), Visible (Apple TV+) and They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (Netflix).

Matt Allan Smith — Cinematographer
Matt Allan Smith is a cinematographer hailing from a small town in Maryland and based in Los Angeles. He has shot a variety of short films and commercial & branded content for Nike, Indeed, Tinder, BuzzFeed, Netflix and others. Matt’s passion as cinematographer stems from an equilibrium between technician and artist, with a keen interest in creating images that strengthen the emotions of the stories they support. He enjoys storytelling that encourages audiences to build empathy through imagination, diversity — and preferably — some weirdness. He’s earned an MFA in Cinematography at the American Film Institute.

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Contact

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