A HOST OF TROUBLE
Feature Film Investment Proposal
FEATURE LENGTH SYNOPSIS
A HOST OF TROUBLE is a comedy set in a Chicago working class neighborhood in 1955. It revolves around Harriet, a young girl torn between her strict Catholic upbringing and the sweet allure of freedom represented by her favorite aunt, a golf pro and protegée of the great Babe Didrikson. It's Harriet's secret plan to wear a fancy Marshall Field's dress to her First Communion instead of the family hand-me-down. The plan is a briar patch of trouble that gets her in thicker and thicker. Her friends try to help, especially a Hungarian immigrant who'd sell her parents to Joe McCarthy to feel accepted. Standing in her way are: her sainted mother; her dad, an inventor of "Rube Goldberg" contraptions; her teacher, a nun who rapturously describes the end of the world during "duck and cover drills"; and her harpy older sisters. Harriet wins her trophy dress but is convinced she's lost her soul. In seeking redemption, she sends the huge First Communion pageant into chaos and shocks her parents into clearly seeing her for the first time. In the end, Harriet, our little lady of trouble, receives the host as well as what she's really always longed for: the understanding and love of her parents.
ABOUT "A HOST OF TROUBLE "
A HOST OF TROUBLE, an original, funny and touching story enlivened by rich characters and setting, is a first-rate, well-crafted script that has artistic integrity, family values, commercial appeal and most importantly, timelessness. We believe that the strength of the feature screenplay, the unique storyline and the intended production quality make this an artistically worthy and financially sound project. Our passion for the feature film script and our zeal to flex our producer muscles compelled us to develop and produce a short film version. The short film reflects the artistic qualities and the tone we would achieve with the feature version. This is a very ambitious short considering the size of the cast (15 principals with over 20 extras), the limitations of 5 minors in the cast and the 1955 time period. All that was missing was a dog. We produced this short within a very limited budget, so imagine what we can achieve with a reasonable budget for the full-length version.
INVESTING
IN THE TRENCHES is very open to varying partnership arrangements to finance the full-length feature film production of A HOST OF TROUBLE.
The proposed budget for the film is $5 million. Probable markets for the film include: theatrical, home video (50% of the revenue from films comes from the video market according to "60 Minutes" Nov. 2nd '03), DVD, television, pay cable, airlines and other ancillary outlets worldwide.
Producer Barry Mendel, (The Sixth Sense and The Royal Tennebaums ), notes that it's not just in theaters that family films do well. "In the aftermarket of videos and DVD's, a G-rated film will sell up to five times as many units as an R rated film as parents search for suitable films for their children to watch at home."
"Family films are evergreens, if done right ," says Christopher Fries, President of Atmosphere Entertainment. "You're not just going to get a cycle of sales. If they're produced well, have a good topic and cast, these films get better with time".
Hence, investors/partners will receive more potential value in return for a comparatively small investment
FINANCIAL SENSE
In these difficult times, there is a true yearning for films with good, old fashioned, timeless family values. An article by the LA Times in March 2003 states, 'The head of the National Association of Theatre Owners told reporters that family friendly-films drove the box office last year. "None of the top 20 films that grossed more than 100 million were R rated", said the organization's president, John Fithian. "Most family-friendly films sell big, most R rated features do not." "The family genre is becoming more and more desirable," says Michael Jacobs of Porchlight Entertainment. "Their shelf life holds longer because they're not so genre-driven. They are a franchisable product that stands the test of time because they're classic stories."
So, the time is especially ripe to invest in a classic family film project like A HOST OF TROUBLE, which is character driven, uplifting and affordable to make and has immense crossover audience appeal.
- A HOST OF TROUBLE will, of course, appeal to CHILDREN because the star is a quick-witted 8 year-old girl with two sidekicks who engage in humorous and sometimes touching antics and endure numerous perils.
- Moreover, the CATHOLIC storyline ensures a large instant audience. According to the 2002 Vatican Information Service, Catholics represent 21% of the American population and 40% across Europe.
- A HOST OF TROUBLE also appeals to the YOUNG GIRL MARKET, a new audience bloc that is gaining increasing momentum at the box office.
- Being set in the late 50's, A HOST OF TROUBLE will attract the large BABY BOOMER POPULATION. These 76 million boomers are starving for entertainment they can enjoy with their children and grandchildren at their side.
SUMMARY
All these elements: The family film genre, the quality of the script, the child, the Boomer and Catholic demographics translate to popularity and dollars. The six compatible, smart, creative minds of IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS were able to pull together all the creative and technical teams to make this high-quality short film within a limited budget and time frame. That, alone, should inspire confidence in the viability and the potential success of the feature length film A HOST OF TROUBLE.
CONTACT
FOR A MORE DETAILED PROPOSAL AND A FULL BUDGET PLEASE CONTACT
DEBBIE ZIPP OR CLAIRE CALLAWAY AT "IN THE TRENCHES PRODUCTIONS":
310-471-4250 OR info@inthetrenchesproductions.com