The big picture

Working in the film industry for over 20 years, Oceanside-based screenwriter Jim Malone, 47, looked forward to filming a trailer for his award-winning screenplay, the first major project he has pursued as both director and executive producer in his entire career.

“People might say that I’ve waited a long time, but I think I’ve made it just in time,” said Malone, who launched the two-day shoot at Glory Beezzz in Baldwin last Sunday.

Almost four years after writing his script for “Turning Two,” which earned him the grand prize title at the 2012 Philadelphia Screenwriting Competition last October, Malone said that he will produce a 5-minute teaser trailer with his $6,000 cash prize to promote the project via crowd-sourcing websites, such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter, in hopes of funding a longer feature film.

Malone’s teaser will follow Jesse, a not-so-sympathetic street thug who tends to exploit others for his personal gain, until the day he almost runs over an orphaned toddler with his car. In the days after the incident, Malone said, Jesse learns to care for another person and later discovers his purpose in life.

Noting the project’s title, “Turning Two,” Malone said that the plot draws from a corresponding baseball metaphor, which Jesse mentions at one point in the script as he explains the timing of a double play: “It’s just after that one moment, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be doing exactly what you’re supposed to do.”

Malone — who is working with independent producer Caitlin Gold of Long Lost Productions on the project — said that the script is partially based part on an experience he had at 19 when he almost hit a child in the street with his car.

“The human spirit is just so resilient,” said Malone, adding, “I just wanted to take someone who seemed like such a lost cause and show the kind of comebacks that human beings can make.”

Given his project’s tight budget and the normally high cost of reserving film locations, Malone turned to Glory Beezzz owner Dierdre Stammers, 43, a parent of one of his daughter’s third grade classmates at Oceanside School #3, so that he could use her urbanized thrift store to film three key scenes for his teaser.

The film shoot called for a restaurant scene on the store’s second level, a Korean grocery scene on its lower level and a crack den scene in its storage room.

“I hope he can spend the money on talent, producers, directors and not have to shell out where I can help to offset his costs,” said Stammers, who wanted to pay forward all the support she received in launching her business three years ago. “The better the quality of his teaser trailer, the more appealing it will be for financiers.”

Malone said that he will also film on location in Jamaica, Queens and on Yorktown Street in Oceanside for the rest of the two-day shoot.

Once his project finishes post-production in the coming months, Malone said he hopes to post his trailer, along with behind-the-scenes footage of the cast and crew on set, online by Dec. 1.