Almost Plausible

This week on Almost Plausible we welcome our first guest host, Daniel Hess! Daniel chose "brick" for the subject of the episode, and the pitches were about as varied as possible. We must have ended up choosing the right one, though, because we never found ourselves up against the wall while coming up with a story. We enjoyed having Daniel on the show, and by the end we came up with a movie...

Whiteboards. They’re big, they’re flat, the pens smell weird, but more than anything they're hard. A hard surface, yes, but also hard to write a movie about. Like, really hard. This week's episode was almost a complete failure, but after a pretty in-depth false start, we managed to backtrack and find a new, much more successful path. But hey, that's writing! You can't be too precio...

Memorial Day is next week, and for many people that means getting out in the backyard and grilling up something tasty. Whether you like steaks, veggies, or burgers and hot dogs (or all of the above!), there's nothing quite like the delicious, smoky flavor the BBQ grill imparts to your food. So with that in mind, the theme this week is BBQ Grill, and we assure this episode is grilled to perfect...

Our pitches this week are anything but garden variety as we come up with a movie where a garden hose plays a big role. A couple of our ideas are all wet, but luckily the three of us are flexible. Thanks to Emily's decisiveness, we quickly choose one idea, which turns out to practically write itself. The story is built on tropes, but constantly subverts expectations, and in the end our hero ove...

Who doesn't love the smell of warm, freshly baked bread? We certainly do, which is why this week we're cooking up a story about a bread maker. Among several ideas for movies about bread based businesses, we come up with a tasty business venture of our own. We battle furiously to set ourselves apart from both common expectations and movies that already exist. And along the way we learn that...

On this week's episode, we shine a light on a group of people living in the dark in more ways than one. They have only a single beacon to illuminate their world, and our story begins as their source of light is in peril. An unexpected answer is brought to light by a small faction, and it's up to them to help their compatriots see the light of day. References and Transcript Subscribe to the...

This week, you may ask, "What's Cooking?" Well, "Today's Special" is nothing short of a "Big Night" for us when we come up with an "Off the Menu" story about a paper clip. There will be no "Waiting..." as we choose a pitch faster than we ever have. It's a fairly simple premise, but as we get "In the Weeds" we end up with a lot of "Spi...

We had to think outside the box this week, as we came up with ideas for a movie about a lunch box. There was some initial concern about lunch boxes being a container, and despite the issues we've faced with containers in the past, we manage to come up with an assortment of interesting ideas. If this movie were to be made, we think the box office numbers would probably be pretty good. So grab a...

Easter is a few days away, so to celebrate we're putting our own spin on a classic English fairy tale. It's a tale of magical candy, giants, talking mice, and the return of the reluctantly benevolent government. You might say we have our heads in the clouds, but give it a listen and remember what the dormouse said! References and Transcript Subscribe to the show: Apple Podcasts Spotify Goo...

Extra, extra! The latest issue of Almost Plausible is hot off the press and available now! This week's headline is "newspaper," and our talking heads have created a story where the old fish wrap really shines. That's the good news. The bad news is... Well, it may not be quite all the news that's fit to print, so to speak. There's no fake news here, so download this episode...

This week on Almost Plausible, we attempt to decide which story to develop through a literal coin toss. Our protagonist finds a penny, but will it bring her luck, or is her penny dreadful? And minor spoiler alert: We finally tackle a story about time travel. Join us for an episode full of excitement, insights, and a ton of references. References and Transcript Subscribe to the show: Apple Podcasts...

Pack your lunch in a paper bag because on this week's episode, we explore ideas for a movie about a paper bag. It's time for another quirky romantic comedy from your favorite fake screenwriting trio. How can a paper bag be romantic? And what problems will our protagonist face along the way? Does she have everything in the bag, or does she end up getting sacked? (Insert Shep grumbling here....

You probably don’t think much of your toilet brush. Oh sure, you may be grateful it gets shoved into your toilet to do the cleaning so you don’t have to stick your hand down there, but no one would ever make an entire movie about a toilet brush right? Well… On this week’s episode, we get down and dirty with the idea of a toilet brush playing a central role in a film. What could our toilet brush mo...

Printers have come such a long way in our lifetimes. Forty years ago we had noisy dot matrix printers that frequently jammed. Today we have mind-boggling 3D printers that frequently jam. Progress! As we explore a printer-centered plot, we discuss… Well, killer printers, mostly. It’s interesting that all three of us came up with killer printer pitches. But were any of those ideas worth the paper th...

This week’s theme is one you probably know very well. Most of us spend several hours every day with our pillow, but have you ever thought about how a pillow would play a crucial role in a movie? Our pillow talk on this episode includes a Western set in a pillow world, a fortune-telling pillow, and a boyfriend pillow that comes to life, but don’t worry, you won’t lose any sleep over this one! Refer...

Are you a fan of this show yet? Well perhaps after this episode you will be, because this week we tackle ceiling fans. This was a tricky subject for us, and all three of us had a hard time coming up with pitches. We went around and around for a bit, but once we finally settled on an idea, coming up with the rest of the story was a breeze. References and Transcript Subscribe to the show: Apple Podc...

What’s more comforting than chicken noodle soup? Whether it’s homemade or out of a can, there’s just something about it that we all love. In this week’s episode, chicken noodle soup steps into the spotlight. Once again we accidentally pitch a few existing movies, but we don’t chicken out, and eventually settle on an idea that we all feel is just as comforting as the soup at the center of the plot....

Is that a new episode of Almost Plausible in your pocket, or are you just happy to see us? Probably both! Have you ever thought about how weird pockets are? They’re like little pouches that live inside your clothes. And why don’t more women’s clothes have pockets? Seems silly to us. In this episode, we explore magically linked pockets, pickpockets, and how pockets were invented in the first place...

Welcome to Almost Plausible! We're three friends who love movies and making up stories. On this podcast, we have less than an hour to take an everyday object (in this episode, it's a calculator) and create a story where that object takes a central or critical role in the story. Join us as we create characters, work out the plot, solve some problems (ha!), and have fun along the way. Refere...

Welcome to Almost Plausible! The podcast that takes ordinary ideas and turns them into stories. Join Thomas, Emily, and F. Paul Shepard as they come up with an entire movie plot in under an hour, all centered around some everyday object. Transcript Subscribe to the show: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher RSS Connect with us: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Reddit Discord